Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025

[itsfi]

Hi there, BIC and happy spring! Whether (a) you're spring cleaning, or (b) returning to the office and wanting to use the makeup you have (new and old) or will pick up along the way, or (c) interested in putting together a collection (big or small) of "go to" or Top Shelf product for every day, the season, a special event or occasions, or just in general, or (d) for any other reason, please join us here at the Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge 2025. 

How does this work?

To add a little bit of fun and creativity to curating a makeup capsule, there will be a weekly theme or prompt on which that week's group of beauty products will touch upon. There's no need to have every single product for the week fit the theme exactly. All you need is one product. And, truth be told, how that product fits into the weekly theme is subject to interpretation. Yours, primarily. So, please feel free to be creative. This is about finding a set of makeup products that work for you and your lifestyle, whether already in your collection or waiting to be found by you. 

For me, I've found having a bag of makeup ready at the start of a week to be helpful in getting me out the door more efficiently, and feeling and looking put together. Some weeks my makeup bag has a minimalist look and feel; other weeks, the makeup capsule I've curated for use during the week resembles a more maximalist approach, with several products to choose from. There are weeks when I use the beauties in my capsule every day, and, there are weeks when I may add products into my existing bag of makeup during the week to meet my needs. 

How Can / Do I Participate?  

There are several ways you can participate - You can post a photo of the products you use or tag and list them, as you like. You can give someone's post a heart and / or ask questions about products in someone's capsule. You can post a different capsule every week or once a month or every once in a while, when a theme grabs your interest or draws your attention. 

When and where are/will the weekly themes posted?

The weekly themes are (or will be) included in the original post - under the section titled "Current Makeup Capsule Theme" or "Upcoming Makeup Capsule Theme". Occasionally, I will post a link to a separate post with the monthly themes.

▶️  CURRENT MAKEUP CAPSULE THEME  

Week 21 (May 19 - 25) - The Vacation Makeup Capsule  

Alright, we're heading into Memorial Day weekend, often an informal kickoff to summer. Whether or not you're on vacay that week, assemble a capsule containing one or more of makeup products that are "must have" when packing for vacation.

Optional (month-long theme): May is Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) National Heritage Month and to celebrate, we're bringing back the optional month-long theme in addition to the weekly themes. So, if you're up for the challenge, consider doing a tie-in of both, be it one product that fits both capsule themes, or one or more product from the then current weekly theme below and one or more product from an AAPI founded or owned beauty brand.

Spoiler

Below is a non-exhaustive list of makeup brands founded or co-founded / owned or co-owned by Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) - the brands listed are primarily ones that offer makeup / color cosmetics.  To the extent the founder's identify cannot be determined by the brand name, his/her/their name(s) will appear in parens next to the brand name. Brands with an asterisk (*) next to their name denotes that that brand is available at Sephora.

CLE Cosmetics (Lauren Jin)

CTZN Cosmetics (Aleena Khan, Aleezeh Khan, and Naseeha Khan)

Em Cosmetics (Michelle Phan)
Finding Ferdinand (Nhu Le)

* Glow Recipe (Christine Chang and Sarah Lee)

Jason Wu Beauty

Kimchi Chic Beauty (Kim Chi)

* Kulfi Beauty (Priyanka Ganjoo)

Live Tinted (Deepica Mutyala)

* Mango People (Sravya Adusumilli)

Meloway Makeup (Aiden Kim and Ash Kim)

* One/Size by Patrick Starrr

Orce Cosmetics (Yu-Chen Shih)

Ourself (Lauren Otsuki)

* Patrick Ta Beauty

Purlisse Beauty (Jennifer Yen)

Seraphine Botanicals (Sylvia Phann)

The Creme Shop (Theresa and Lawrence Kim)

* Tower 28 Beauty (Amy Liu)

U Beauty (Tina Craig)
* Velour Lashes (Mabel Lee)

* Wander Beauty (Divya Gugnani)

Yensa Beauty (Jennifer Yen)

UPCOMING Makeup Capsule Themes: [Updated 5.18.2025]

Spoiler

Week 22 (May 26 - June 1) - The Musician Founded / Owned Beauty Brand Makeup Capsule
We've got the American Music Awards (AMA) taking place on May 26. Use actual red carpet looks from this year or past years for inspiration when putting together a makeup capsule with one or more products that fit this week's prompt. Or, show us what product(s) you'd use if you were attending the AMAs. 🎶🎵🎶 Or, curate a capsue if one or more products from beauty brands (focusing primarily on makeup) that are founded or owned by a musician.

Spoiler

Below is a non-exhaustive list of brands founded or owned by a musician that have makeup products as a primary focus. Prodcts with an asterisk (*) after the brand name are available at Sephora. 

about-face (Halsey)
Fenty Beauty (Rihanna)*
GXVE by Gwen Stefani*
Haus Labs by Lady Gaga*
Kesha Rose Beauty
Keys Soulcare (Alicia Keys)
Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez*
R.E.M. Beauty (Ariana Grande)
Victoria Beckham Beauty

Capsule themes for June will be posted to the thread sometime during the Memorial Day weekend (most likely near the end of the long weekend).

Previous Capsule Themes: [Updated: 5.18.2025]

Spoiler

1 - The "New Year, New-To-You" Makeup Capsule  
2 - The "Mocha Mousse" Inspired Makeup Capsule
3 - The "Favorite Feature(s) Focus" Makeup Capsule  
4 - The "How Low Can I Go?" Makeup Capsule
5 - The "Lunar New Year 2025 Zodiac Sign Lucky Colors" Makeup Capsule  

February 2025 Capsule Themes <Click on link ⬅️ for more detailed description of capsule themes>
6 - The "Black Founded/Owned Beauty Brand(s)" Makeup Capsule
7 - The "Dynamic Duo, Trusted Trio or Killer Combo" Makeup Capsule
8 - The "New York Fashion Week Inspired" Makeup Capsule and/or The "Celeb-Inspired" Makeup Capsule
9 - The Throwback Makeup Capsule

March 2025 Capsule Makeup Themes <Click on link ⬅️ for more detailed description of capsule themes> 
10 - The "International Women Founded / Owned Beauty Brand" Makeup Capsule and/or The Palette(s) Makeup Capsule
11 - The Samples Makeup Capsule  and/or The "Attitude of Gratitude" Makeup Capsule
12 - The "Spring Is In The Air" Makeup Capsule
13 - The "Take 2" / Do Over" Makeup Capsule 

April 2025 Capsule Makeup Themes <Click on link ⬅️ for more detailed description of capsule themes> 
14 - The Spring Sticks Makeup Capsule
15 - The Flush of Color Makeup Capsule 
16 - The Spring Refresh Makeup Capsule 
17 - The “Green” Makeup Capsule 
18 - The Makeup-Artist-Founded/Owned Brand Makeup Capsule 

May 2025 Capsule Makeup Themes <Click on link ‌‌⬅️ for more detailed description of capsule themes> 
19 - The  Asian American Pacific Islander Founded / Owned Beauty Brands Makeup Capsule
20 - The "Tailored For You" Makeup Capsule

Additional FAQs

Spoiler

Why weekly? 
Years ago, beauty & lifestyle blogger Serein Wu, did a weekly series (on her blog and YouTube channel), Makeup Bag Monday, where she rotated her makeup bag each week with new product launches and makeup already in her collection. Every Monday, she shared the products she selected for the upcoming week and provided detailed makeup reviews on the makeup she used for the previous week. My reviews here will likely not be as detailed, but I will at least try to include a few thoughts about the products at the end of the week or beginning of the next week.  If weekly works for you, great. If not, feel free to join in based on what works best for you. 

Having a weekly capsule at the ready at (or near) the beginning of the week has also been helpful with making getting ready in the morning easier and more efficient, and that, has made it more fun too. It's also a great way for me to see how well a product performs with other products and that makes the decision to keep, donate, re-home or toss an item a lot easier. Also want to note that if the makeup for the week's capsule is not something you want to use for the entire week, that's fine, too. I generally use the makeup in the week's capsule 4-6 days during the week, sometimes more, sometimes less. 

When are the weekly themes posted?
I generally try to post the themes for the next month about two weeks before the start of that next month (so around the 15th of each month, give or take a few days), except that, for this month, weekly themes for weeks 2 thru 5 for January will be posted by or before end of the day on January 2. Weekly themes are updated at the end of the then current week (e.g., Sunday). This year, I will plan to update the weekly themes the Sunday before the start of the next week's theme, around 9pm Pacific / 10pm Mountain / 11pm Central / 12midnight Eastern Time.

What if I don't have enough products to fit the theme for a full face?

There's need for your entire makeup capsule to fit the weekly theme(s). Just one item will do. And, even if you don't have one that fits squarely within a theme, feel free to post your makeup capsule. We'd love to see what you're using and hear your feedback on the products as you put them to use - are they a favorite or a potential favorite? Are they just 'meh'? Or, is it time to declutter the item(s) from your stash?

Is there anything else I should include in my capsule?
It's all up to you what to include in your capsule. Some weeks, my capsule consists of completely different items than the week before. Other weeks, I've swapped out just a few items or have included additional items in one category of products - some of us refer to this as giving us options for the week. 

You may see reference to "fits." That was creatively coined by our fabulous @danielledanielle and refers to the bag or component that will hold the week's makeup and, specifically, does all the makeup for the week's capsule fit into the bag / storage component. You ca also include the makeup brushes and tools you use for application, if you wish.

[lmaster]

Thank you sweets!! @CynthieLu 

[peculiarzmakeup]

Week 1 (December 31 - January 5) - The "New Year, New-To-You" Makeup Capsule   

2024 was an amazing year getting to experience different products, find best fits, and find new faves. All of the products were new to me. I decided to write about what became the new routine.

Skin Care

Tatcha is my NEW 

my favorites are the 

Tatcha The Matcha Cleanse Daily Clarifying Gel Cleanser 5 oz / 150 ml 

Tatcha The Dewy Skin Cream Plumping & Hydrating Refillable Moisturizer 

Another NEW is a cleansing balm that smells like a dreamsicle from a skin specialist! 

Foundation

Danessa Myricks Beauty Yummy Skin Soothing Serum Skin Tint Foundation with Peptides + Ceramides 2 

Concealer

Danessa Myricks Beauty Yummy Skin Lift & Flex Hydrating Concealer With Hyaluronic Acid & Caffeine 2 

Bronzer

MERIT Bronze Balm Sheer Sculpting Bronzer Quince 

Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Warm Wishes Effortless Cream Bronzer Stick Power Boost 

Blush

Rhode Pocket Blush (Sleepy Girl)

MERIT Flush Balm Cream Blush Stockholm 

MERIT Flush Balm Cream Blush Mood 

Highlighter 

MERIT Day Glow Dewy Highlighting Balm Bounce 

Eyebrows

Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Brow Harmony Flexible Lifting and Laminating Eyebrow Gel 0.15 oz / 4.5 g 

Powder

Danessa Myricks Beauty Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder - Tinted Primer & Foundation 

Lip

Rokael Beauty Velvet Lip Cremes Lipstick

Eyeliner

Danessa Myricks Beauty Linework Paintbrush Fluid Liquid Eyeliner 0.034 oz / 1 ml 

Mascara

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara Duo Black

Eyeshadow

PAT McGRATH LABS Mini Eye Shadow Palette: Sublime Smoke 

Body Care 

54 Thrones African Beauty Butter Mini Gift Set54 Thrones African Beauty Butter Mini Gift Set

Biossance Squalane + Enzyme Sugar Body Scrub 6.76 oz/ 200 mL 

#rare beauty lotion (peach)

Take Aways! 
There are a lot of NEWS for me and I’m excited to see what else fits and readjust when things evolve. It’s been fun going through trial and sometimes error but ultimatley leading to my New Faves ❤️

[Mellmars1185]

@peculiarzmakeup Great way to start the year off! 

[peculiarzmakeup]

Thank you so much! I really enjoy creating capsules ❤️ @Mellmars1185 

[Mcakes]

@peculiarzmakeup Tatcha is so good, and Vicky is a wonderful human. Love that you went all in on Tatcha!

[peculiarzmakeup]

Tatcha is wonderful for sure! I love their mission too and what they do for schools it’s very kind, great quality products I had to try them all haha 🩷 is Vicky someone from Tatcha? @Mcakes 

[itsfi]

Beautiful capsule @peculiarzmakeup ❣️ I love the products you chose for your capsule - they are lovely on their own and as a whole, present such a pretty look - it's healthy, glowy skin with just the right burst of warmth and color.

I like how you set up the Rokael Beauty lipstick and lip oil photo - the white, black and gold color theme is 😘 Question for you on the lip oil - how saturated / pigmented do you find the color? Is it something you typically wear over a lipstick or does it give you enough color on its own? I have a cart with a few (okay, more than "a few" 🤣) products - I need to whittle that down a little more first though. 

[peculiarzmakeup]

Thank you so much! @itsfi  it’s really neat to see what is New and also reflecting back on the past year and all I’ve learned here truly such a gift. I’ve honestly only tried it over lipstick and it looks great that’s how I envisioned it when i got both together I honestly don’t have an honest review of it on its own but the quality is good and a nice shine! And I can’t wait for you to try it especially the lipstick it’s so crème like but holds very well! I adore it! 

[itsfi]

Oh, that's good to know @peculiarzmakeup; thank you. I have a couple of his lipsticks and lip oils and I have told myself (and keep repeating it) that I don't need to buy everything at once. Maybe I'll grab two lipsticks and a lip oil first. Decisions, decisions. 🤔

[peculiarzmakeup]

I know it’s tricky there’s so many good shades but first something helpful is to know if you like the feel first I bought one lipstick then ordered more I know how that is tho! I am in that boat with you ❤️❤️ @itsfi

im excited to hear about it! 

[CynthieLu]

Wow! Absolutely fabulous looking choices for your capsule @peculiarzmakeup but wait.. a cleansing balm that smells like a creamsickle? That sounds divine. 😍

[peculiarzmakeup]

Yes! It is it lasts forever cause you only need a drop of it and that’s the reason I got it because I heard dreamsicle 

 It’s very cool and what less than a year at BIC has taught me! 
I’m very greatful 🩷🩷

[CynthieLu]

There really is so much to learn from everyone. @peculiarzmakeup Mee too! I am always learing from everyone here and so grateful. 🙏💝

[peculiarzmakeup]

I think it’s so great as well because of the ideas that click sometimes I find I’m missing that one thing or one idea and something just inspires it, this is a wonderful place to be. I absolutely relate 🩷 @CynthieLu 

[itsfi]

Week 1 (December 31 - January 5) - The "New Year, New-To-You" Makeup Capsule   

I have a few new-to-me beauties in this week's capsule. I've marked them in the product list below with an asterisk (*️⃣) following the product's name. 

COMPLEXION:

Primer: I'll alternate between Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base Moisturizer & Primer with Vitamin C + Hyaluronic Acid 1.7 oz/... 🐐 and Saint Jane Beauty Luxury Sun Ritual Pore Smoothing Face Sunscreen SPF 30 1.7 oz / 50 mL which has a beautiful formula and finish. For those sensitive to fragrance, it is noticeably perfumed. I don't mind it at all, but want to know that it's there and is decidedly floral. 

Foundation: Cle de Peau The Foundation SPF 22 evens tone, has a slight blurring effect and a lovely lit-from-within radiant finish. And well it should for the price tag that comes with this beauty! 😅  This will be one of my pan it! challenge products. 

Concealer: Armani Beauty Power Fabric + Longwear Matte Concealer is a throwback choice for this week - it was the first product (other than sheet masks) that I finished and repurchased since discovering BIC.

Setting Spray: Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez Mini Always an Optimist 4-in-1 Mist 1.18 fl oz / 35 mL - I have a few primers and setting sprays that are being put to a battle / throwdown over the next few months and this one from Rare Beauty is one of them battling it out for a permanent spot in the makeup collection. @ather, I may be reaching out to pick your brain for more info on how you did your head-to-head battles when your brow products. 

CHEEKS:

Blush: Saie Dew Blush Liquid Cream Blush Chilly *️⃣ (gratis)

EYES:

Primer: NARS Pro-Prime™ Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base 🐐 - for the most part, I'll be alternating between this and the about-face eyeshadow primer for most of the year. 

Eyeshadow: Yves Saint Laurent Couture Mini Clutch Eyeshadow Palette 100 Stora Dolls *️⃣ (I've used this maybe once or twice before) - she's a beauty inside and out, and another product that will be part of my 2025 pan it! challenge items. Yes, I'm gonna give it a go @blackkitty2014. Another eye shadow palette but a smaller one. (Will tag the 2025 pan it! challenge as soon as the thread has gone up)

Mascara: Yves Saint Laurent Lash Clash Extreme Volume Waterproof Mascara Black - my intro to this was at Sephoria 2023; New York when the reps applied the blue version of the mascara to the tips of my lashes. This is black and waterproof. The blue may make an appearance later in the year. 😉

LIPS: 

The beauty category most likely to see options in this year's capsules will be the lips. 💋 

Lip Balm: Rhode Peptide Lip Treatment (Vanilla) (not pictured)

Lip Crayon: Ere Perez Coco Crayon (Grace)

Lipstick: DIOR Rouge Dior Forever Liquid Sequin Lipstick 323 Dazzle *️⃣ 

Lip Oil: NARS Oil-Infused Lip Tint (Reef) - I've been enjoying pairing this with Ere Perez Grace and am interested to see how the rosy-bronze/copper tint looks over Dior Dazzle. 

The "Fits":  

Not a new bag, but one of my favorites. I don't remember when this came out or where I picked it up but I love how spacious yet compact it is.

Here we go, another year of makeup capsules! 😚

[Mellmars1185]

@itsfi Beautiful capsule to start off 2025! I love your bag! The YSL quad is also so pretty to look at! The shades you chose are beautiful. I am going to add it to my loves (not that I need another eyeshadow...but how can I not?) .How do you like the formula of the Dior Liquid Sequin? It is so fun and festive!

[itsfi]

@Mellmars1185, here's an up close look at Yves Saint Laurent Couture Mini Clutch Eyeshadow Palette 100 Stora Dolls 

It's a beautiful palette, definitely a good one for every day and also in line with the mocha mousse trend. I have a few 😅 things that can fall into that color family. Will post to the Pantone Colour of the Year 2025 - Mocha Mousse.

 This one leans more neutral-cool but YSL released a more warm toned one last year - Yves Saint Laurent Couture Mini Clutch Eyeshadow Palette 710 Over Brun 

The Dior liquid sequin is really a fun one - it's not a daily lip color for me but I reach for it more than just on special occasions now. Do you have one? 

[Mellmars1185]

@itsfi Thank you for sharing and swatching!  I tend to lean towards buying and using more warm toned palettes but Stora Dolls is sooo pretty. I can definitely relate to owning a lot of shades that fit into the mocha mousse category too! I do have two shade of the Dior Lip Sequin. I have the shade Masquerade and I can't remember the other shade. For some reason it is not showing up in my order history.

[greeneyedgirl107]

@itsfi pretty quad!

[Mcakes]

@itsfi you are the cutest!! Love so much about this post, and that they all fit in that adorable Sephora bag, and that Wink snow globe in the background?!? 

[itsfi]

Ahhhh @Mcakes! 🤗 Happy New Year!!! Miss you. This has been a good way to work through my stash, and so fun to see what everyone is reaching for.