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 25 (June 16 - 22) - The "Welcome, Summer!" Makeup Capsule - The official start of summer this year is June 20 and to kick it off, show us one or more of the makeup beauties that you'll being using for your hot girl (or guy) summer look! AND, be sure to check back later for a crossover prompt that will be an additional part of this week's summer slay theme.

Optional Monthly Theme: In addition to (or in lieu of) the current week's theme, we're having a month-long theme for June as well in keeping with Pride month. So, if you'd like to go with or include this optional theme, then include in your curated capsule, one or more product(s) from a LGBTQ+ founded/owned beauty brand. 

Spoiler

Below is a non-exhaustive list of LGBTQ+ founded/owned brands with primarily makeup offerings. Credit for most of the brands in this list are from 2024 articles from Allure and Byrdie. Brands with an asterisk (*) beside their names are available at Sephora and/or Sephora at Kohl's. To the extent the founder(s)/owner(s) are not readily discernible by the brand name, their name(s) will appear in (parens). If there are brands that should be included, please let me know.

about face (Halsey)
Flower Beauty (Drew Barrymore)
Formula Z Cosmetics (Zach Dishinger)
* Freck Beauty (Nasera Alayon)
Jason Wu Beauty
Jecca Blac
Kevyn Aucoin Beauty
KimChi Chic Beauty
* Makeup by Mario (Mario Dedivanovic)
* OleHenriksen

* One/Size by Patrick Starrr
* Patrick Ta Beauty
Sappho (JoAnn Fowler)
* Tom Ford Beauty
Trixie Cosmetics (Trixie Mattel)
W3ll People (Shirley Pinkson)

UPCOMING Makeup Capsule Themes: [Updated 6.16.2025]

Spoiler

Week 26 (June 23 - 29) - The "My Best Self" Makeup Capsule - This week's capsule finds inspiration in a few sources. Feel free to draw from any of these as you put together a makeup capsule with one or more products that make you feel like the best version of your current self because we are always changing, growing, and getting better!

Self-Care Month starts on June 24 and shines a spotlight on the importance of self care, with a focus of encouraging all to take/make time to focus on our well-being, undertaking activities that help us to feel better, mentally, emotionally, socially, spiritually, and in our homes, workplaces, etc. There are a host of ways to curate a capsule this week, including:

💄Self Expression - If makeup is a form of self expression or self-care, show us the go to product / products that express who you are and/or holds a special self-care meaning for you. If you're comfortable sharing your look, consider posting to the Gallery or What are you wearing in 2025??

🎶Song and Slay - Curate a capsule with one or more makeup products inspired by a song. It can be a song that reminds you of summer, a makeup look worn by your favorite musical artist, and/or a look inspired by the theme(s) for the summer cheek challenge (coming soon). Speaking of song, if there's an artist or song(s) you're listening to and loving this summer, let us know at the 🎶✨Song of the Day and Music Thread!✨🎶.

😎Your Sizzling Signature Summer Style - Are there products you reach for during these longer, warmer days? Some tried and true favorites for a 'no-makeup' makeup look. Or, beauties that give you that bronzed goddess glow? Pull 'em out for a capsule that captures your sizzling signature summer style! If you have a fab outfit to go with your summer makeup look, stop on by the The Fit, The Fab and The Face: Outfit and Inspo Thread and show us your outfit of the day!

NOTE: Themes for July will be posted by or before the first part of Week 26.

Previous Capsule Themes: [Updated: 6.16.2025]

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
21 - The Vacation Makeup Capsule
22 - The Musician Founded / Owned Beauty Brand Makeup Capsule

June 2025 Capsule Makeup Themes <Click on link ‌‌⬅️ for more detailed description of capsule themes> 
23 - The Love Is Love Makeup Capsule 
24 - The Sleeping Beauties Makeup Capsule and/or The "Shop My Stash 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.

[Mellmars1185]

@CynthieLu Great capsule to start the new year! How did you like the formula of the NYX blush and the Revlon eyeshadow? I love your photo!

[ather]

@CynthieLu  Great capsule!! 

[peculiarzmakeup]

Beautiful capsule, photo, and “News” I love your variety and how these products are new faves for you I also enjoy the Danessa Myricks Beauty Yummy Skin Soothing Serum Skin Tint Foundation with Peptides + Ceramides 2  I feel like it does such a wonderful effortless job with good coverage I’ve seen you sport it beautifully 🩷 love the pink tones it’s so cool to see what everyone’s new loves are I find it so fun to discover 🩷 @CynthieLu 

[itsfi]

This is a wonderful mix of tried-and-true and new-to-you products @CynthieLu! I've heard good things about the NYX blush and the Revlon cream eyeshadows - those actually bring back a bit of nostalgia for me - Revlon had, I think they still have, these cream eyeshadow quads baaaack in the day; that was my intro to cream eyeshadows, well, other than the blue cream eyeshadow stick of my mom's that little me may have found a way to get her little hands on at the time. Oops. 😂

[CynthieLu]

Thank you @itsfi I've seen them get some hype on social media and a bunch of my co-workers absolutely love them. I have only used them a few times but my initial reaction feels pretty positive. 

I know what you mean about makeup nostalgia. I have certain products that when I see them really take me back. I like the feeling, and the way we evolve our makeup choices etc.. it's fun to remember and enjoy the changing times. 🩷

I remember enjoying an icy blue cream eyeshadow waaay back but I think it may have been a Body Shop product? It's actually really hard to remember exactly where I discovered it. 🤯😂

[blackkitty2014]

A great product lineup @CynthieLu 👏🌹

[CynthieLu]

Thank you @blackkitty2014 💝 I've got a good feeling about these new ones, it's time you start trying them out and see how they perform.🧐

[blackkitty2014]

I was out of town most of the 1st week so I will join your ladies on the 2nd week. I love Mocha theme. PS. I might have to cheat with the lipsticks. I’m trying to do 100 day lip challenge as well so I can see how many lipsticks I need to toss 😢 @itsfi 

[itsfi]

@blackkitty2014, I hope you had a fabulous time this week - it can be so nice to get away. Jump on in when you can; always love having you here.

Oh blackkitty, not cheating at all - it's awesome to engage in activities across multiple threads; and great when they intersect with one another. Besides, we are all on board if your capsule has "extras," or, "options" as some of us say. 😅 It'll be exciting to see you work through your lipsticks - that seems like it'll be quite the task - you have such a beautiful collection; I don't envy you. Good luck!

[blackkitty2014]

Thx you @itsfi 🌹

[lmaster]

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

I'm working this week with:

Diamond of the first water eyeshadow palette by Pmg

Hourglass snake palette

Hourglass Phantom Volumizing Glossy Lip Balm  Thrill 165 

Rhode salty tan

Trial size Armani Beauty Lip Maestro Liquid Matte Lipstick 501 Casual Pink 

Saie Dew Blush Liquid Cream Blush Chilly 

DIOR BACKSTAGE Glow Face Palette 006 Celestial Glow 

NARS Laguna Bronzing Cream 

Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Powder Foundation 260 

Thrive cosmetics mascara 

Lancôme Monsieur Big Volumizing Mascara Standard Size Black - 0.33 oz/ 10 mL 

[Mellmars1185]

@lmaster Wonderful capsule to start the year! The art on the Hourglass palette is stunning. I am having FOMO from not picking one up last year 😆. Rhode is definitely on my list to try. How are you liking the new Dior Highlighter palette?

[lmaster]

Thank you!! @Mellmars1185 i like it,  I'm still trying different ways to use it

[Mellmars1185]

@lmaster I saw a YT video where they used the white shade as an eyeshadow topper. It looked amazing! It has so much sparkle payoff!

[lmaster]

Yeah I've used that shade on my lips too!! @Mellmars1185 

[danielledanielle]

Oooh, brilliant start to the year @lmaster 

[lmaster]

Thanks doll @danielledanielle 

[Mcakes]

@lmaster this is such a pretty capsule! Didn't get the Hourglass snake palette, but I couldn't resist the dragon one. 

[lmaster]

Thank you dearly @Mcakes 

[itsfi]

Ahhhh @lmaster, look at these gorgeous goodies! 😍 I'm so impressed how you rotate your palettes and put them to use - PML, Hourglass and Dior Backstage - they're all beauties!!! I think I spend more time just staring at many of my palettes. 😅 How do you like the Fenty powder foundation? (asks the girl who doesn't need another powder foundation, lol). Do you like to apply it with a brush or a sponge / puff?

[lmaster]

Thank you lovely @itsfi i use it with a puff, either to set, or to blend my bronzer and Blush