Capsule Makeup Collection Challenge

[itsfi]

Hello, BIC Beauties! If the idea of makeup capsules piques your curiosity, or you're interested in seeing what's in the beauty collection or weekly makeup bag of your fellow BIC beauties, jump right on in - with questions, comments or a capsule of your own to share.

To add a fun take on putting together a makeup capsule, I've included theme(s) for the weekly capsule - some weeks, I have enough products in my stash (eek!) to make a whole capsule based on the prompt; other weeks, I have just one or two items that fit neatly within theme.

Whether you find yourself in the same place or somewhere in between, jump right on it and share your weekly makeup capsule. Check out the FAQ section below ⤵️ for more info on this challenge.

CURRENT MAKEUP CAPSULE THEME:   

Week 52 (December 23 - December 29) - The Holiday Glam Makeup Capsule and/or  The "2024 Makeup Capsule Collection" Makeup Capsule - Some options for us to close out the makeup capsules for 2024 (or to kick start 2025)!

Show us the beauties you use when you want to add glitz and glam (or, that up the glitz and glam element) to your makeup look.

and/or 

Curate a bag with your go-to, GOAT, ride-or-die products that would make up your ultimate makeup capsule collection (for 2024). If it's too much to put together a creme de la creme capsule or if you're at your best with options, consider putting together a makeup capsules of one or more favorites you discovered (or re-discovered) in 2024. 

Upcoming Makeup Capsule Themes: [Updated 12.21.2024] Take a sneak peek at the weekly themes to come. 

Spoiler

Week 1 - 2024/2025 - to be posted the week of December 23, after the Christmas holiday. HINT: Think newness for the new year, or to usher in the New Year. 😉

Previous Makeup Capsule Themes: [Updated 12.23.2024]

Spoiler

1 - The First (of the Year) Makeup Capsule

2 - The Quick & Easy Winter Edition Makeup Capsule

3 - The $20 USD ($27 CAD) & Under Makeup Capsule

4 - The "On the Go!" Makeup Capsule

5 - The Best of January 2024 Makeup Capsule

6 - The Black Owned / Founded Beauty Brand Makeup Capsule

7 - The Lunar New Year - Year of the Dragon Makeup Capsule and/or The "Things I Love" Makeup Capsule

8 - The "BIC Inspired" Makeup Capsule

9 - The Best of February 2024 Makeup Capsule and/or The "On The Chopping Block" Makeup Capsule 

10 - The International Woman Owned / Founded Beauty Brand Makeup Capsule

11 - The "One Brand" or "All The Brands" Makeup Capsule 

12 - The "Springing Forward" Makeup Capsule and/or The Pops of Color Makeup Capsule 

13 -  The Fast & Furious / Quick & Easy Makeup Capsule and/or The March 2024 "On Top" or "On The Chopping Block" Makeup Capsule 

14 - The "Do Over" or "Take 2" Makeup Capsule

15 - The Makeup-Artist-Founded Brand Makeup Capsule and/or The Sephora Spring Savings Makeup Capsule

16 - The BIC Inspired (Spring Edition) Makeup Capsule and/or The Sephora Spring Savings Makeup Capsule

17 - The "Green" Makeup Capsule and/or The Sephora Spring Savings Makeup Capsule

18 - The  April 2024 "On Top" or "On The Chopping Block" Makeup Capsule and/or The "More Play Time With My Sephora Savings Event Hauls" Makeup Capsule

19 - The AAPI Owned / Founded Beauty Brand Makeup Capsule

20 - The "Sleeping Beauties" Makeup Capsule and/or The "OMG, More Stuff From the Sephora Spring Savings" Makeup Capsule

21 - The "My Best Self" Makeup Capsule
22 - The  May 2024 "On Top", "On The Chopping Block" or "On Repeat" Makeup Capsule
23 - The Love Is Love Makeup Capsule
24 - The Repurposed Makeup Capsule and/or The Multi-tasking Makeup Capsule
25 - The "Welcome, Summer!" Makeup Capsule and/or The "Good Stuff" Makeup Capsule
26 - The June 2024 "On Top", "On the Chopping Block" and/or "On Repeat" Makeup Capsule
27 - The Indie Brands Makeup Capsule and/or The Summer Vacation Makeup Capsule
28 - The "If I Were To Curate My Ultimate Makeup Capsule" Makeup Capsule (aka The "These are My Favorite Products" Makeup Capsule) 
29 - The Sticks and (Gem)Stones Makeup Capsule and/or The Pops of Colour: Summer Edition Makeup Capsule
30 - The BIC Inspired Summer Edition Makeup Capsule and/or The Pan It! Makeup Capsule
31 - The July 2024 New, Old, or "Is It Time For This To Go?" Makeup Capsule
32 - The Take 2 / Do Over Makeup Capsule and/or The "Sleeping Beauties" Makeup Capsule 
33 - The Day-to-Night (or Date Night): Summer Edition Makeup Capsule and/or The "Outside My Comfort Zone" Makeup Capsule
34 - The Samples Makeup Capsule and/or The Newness Makeup Capsule 
35 - The August 2024 Throw Down!, Throwback, and/or Throw Out? Makeup Capsule 
36 - The Workhorses Makeup Capsule
37 - The Runway or Red Carpet Inspired Makeup Capsule and/or The "BIC Inspired" Makeup Capsule 
38 - The LatinX Founded / Owned Beauty Brands Makeup Capsule
39 - The September 2024 Throw Down!, Throwback, and/or Throw Out? Makeup Capsule and/or The Brands at SEPHORiA Makeup Capsule
40 - The "Pop of Colour": Fall Edit Makeup Capsule and/or The Musician Founded or Owned Beauty Brands Makeup Capsule
41 - The "Dynamic Duos (or Trios)" Makeup Capsule and/or The "Products with Interesting / Attention-Grabbing Names" Makeup Capsule
42 - The "Makeup I'm Thankful For" Makeup Capsule and/or The Do Over / Take 2 Makeup Capsule
43 - The "How Low Can I Go?" Makeup Capsule and/or The Global Makeup Capsule
44 - The "Sleeper Hits" Makeup Capsule and/or The October 2024 Throw Down, Throwback, and/or Throw Out? Makeup Capsule
45 - The Sweater Weather Makeup Capsule and/or The Holidays Savings (Shop The Sale) Makeup Capsule
46 - The Time Capsule Makeup Capsule and/or The Awesomely Affordable and/or Spectacularly Splurge-worthy Makeup Capsule
47 - The "Please, Don't Go!" / Discontinued Products Makeup Capsule and/or The Newness Makeup Capsule
48 - The Things I'm Thankful For Makeup Capsule and/or The “BIC Inspired” Fall Makeup Capsule
49 - The Beautifully Bold or Delightfully Demure Makeup Capsule and/or The "Savvy Shopper" Makeup Capsule  
50 - The Sticks 2.0 Makeup Capsule and/or The "Favorite Theme From The Challenge" Makeup Capsule
51 - The Winter Wonderland Makeup Capsule and/or The "Take 2" / "Do Over" Makeup Capsule

FAQs: [Updated 4.28.2024]

Spoiler

What is a capsule makeup collection?  

A capsule makeup collection is a selection of makeup products that can be used to put together different looks for a variety of occasions. For some of us, that may mean a group of essential products for your everyday look plus a few extra items for a more glam or dramatic look; and, for others of us, that may mean, a lineup of our holy grail product(s) in each makeup category. My ideal capsule makeup collection probably falls somewhere in between - we'll (hopefully) find out at the end of the year! I don't see myself as a minimalist, but I don't have an extensive collection of makeup either. I appreciate the collections of people who fall within both camps but I float somewhere in between - on the one hand, my brow product collection would earn a gold star if we were using a minimalist approach to makeup; my lip product lineup, on the other hand, would not. 🤣 It would most definitely not.  

Why have a capsule makeup collection?  

Everyone will have their own reasons for having (or not having) a more streamlined makeup collection. Over the years, I've just become more interested in having less beauty products on hand (well, except for lip products, lol) - a handful of items I use or reach for more frequently with maybe a few additional products that are go-to's for me for special events or occasions.  Don't get me wrong, I love trying new products and I don't see that changing. I just like the idea of having a simpler collection (I appreciate that "simpler" can be relative), curated to my needs and lifestyle.

Why weekly? 
A few 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. I may not post detailed reviews, but will at least try to include a weekly recap (probably at the end of the week) of what products I like and which ones didn't work for me.  If weekly works for you, great. If not, feel free to join in based on what works best for you.

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

No need for your entire makeup capsule to fit the weekly theme(s). Just one 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. 

[danielledanielle]

@itsfi, that Fenty has to stay outside.  It doesn't have a closure, one of the more valid critiques of the product, so it'll def mess up the bag.  I'm the end this bag is going to get stained, but I wanted to use it, this is what stain removers are for... But not so deliberately with the Fenty.  Like, I need to try to keep it clean.

R/T Kulfi, 🤔 I'm gonna say it'll crease on me because of my eye shape but I don't know the severity yet

[itsfi]

Week 48 - The Things I'm Thankful For Makeup Capsule

Spoiler

Skin Prep:

🐐  Sephora Collection Caffeine Eye Mask and the DIOR Capture Dreamskin 1-Minute Mask 2.5 oz / 75 mL are my typical go-to's for skin prep before makeup application - the eye masks to help make my peepers look more alert and awake. The Dior mask to exfoliate and smooth skin, making for a nice canvas for makeup

Complexion:

🐐  Summer Fridays ShadeDrops Mineral Milk Sunscreen SPF 30 1.7 oz / 50 mL does double duty this week as my trusty sunblock and as primer. This is a beautiful sunblock. I've lost count of how many bottles I've gone through; it's in my Top 5 SPFs and I thank @ather for introducing me to it years ago.

🐐   Alternating between Tower 28 Beauty SunnyDays SPF 30 Tinted Sunscreen Foundation which is an easy choice for inclusion in any ultimate makeup capsule collection of mine, and a sample of LYS Beauty Triple Fix Serum Foundation - I can probably wear two different shades in the LYS, depending on the season - LN 6 & MN 1. The formulation on this foundation is gorgeous. 

🌺  I have a few concealers that are among my top choices and the HAUS LABS BY LADY GAGA Triclone Skin Tech Hydrating + De-puffing Concealer with Fermented Arnica # is one of them.

🐐  SEPHORA COLLECTION Microsmooth Multi-Tasking Baked Face Powder Foundation to set. I like the versatility of this one and have gone through a few of them. I originally used this as a powder foundation but these days, I alternate between that or to set my makeup.

Eyes: 

👁  Planning on keeping things simple with my eye makeup this week - Makeup by Mario Master Mattes Brightening Pencil - Light 1 (discontinued) for the waterline and the CLIO Long & Curl Up Waterproof Black Mascara Volumizing & Lengthening Long-Wearing Mascara after curling my lashes with the Tower 28 Lash Curler which is my current favorite lash curler.

🌻  For a little newness, I'll be giving the Valentino Brow Trio Eyebrow Liner a go. This was a gwp - and one I'm thankful for the sales associates letting me know was part of the promo that I qualified for. I had planned on purchasing it anyways and appreciated them telling me and saving some $$$, which I'm sure I spent on another Valentino product. 😆

Cheeks: 

🎁  At this year's Sephoria, one of the YSL reps applied both the Yves Saint Laurent Make Me Blush 12H Blurring Liquid Blush 57 Coral Clash and Yves Saint Laurent Make Me Blush 12H Blurring Liquid Blush 69 Lavender Lust on me and I really liked the look they created. Neither of these shades are ones I would purchase on my own, so I'm thankful that they did. Thankful too for the extreme generosity of a friend for gifting these two to me. 

🌼  Love the Rhode Pocket Bush sticks - they are on the small side which is fine for me because I'm not sure how long it'll take me to finish this one. It's got a very balm, emollient feel and consistency so it might not be a good fit for some skin types. It works well on my cheeks and lips.

🌅  MAKEUP BY MARIO SoftSculpt Transforming Skin Enhancer®   (gratis) has been a go-to as a traditional bronzer or also for an all over light warmth. I ended up purchasing it in another shade and am set all year round. Doubles in a pinch as an all over wash of color on my lids.

Lips:

💋  Along with using the Rhode as a lip color, I'll have some options in the lip department (to no one's surprise), including GXVE BY GWEN STEFANI I’m Still Here Longwear Clean Matte Liquid Lipstick Original Recipe, the Rhode Lip Peptide Treatment (scent: vanilla), and SEPHORA COLLECTION Cream Lip Stain 10HR Liquid Lipstick 80 Honeymoon,a new shade that I have been loving). 

The "Fits":

Spoiler

The bag (gratis) is soft, with a microfiber towel-like feel, and handle attached to the zipper that gives it a wristlet feel. It was gifted to me, along with some travel sized / mini's of Dior treats. It was a lovely surprise. It's been sitting for a while because I'm scared I'll get it dirty. I'll just have to be extra careful with it. 

Other than what red lipsticks might be decluttered by my stash later this week in another round of  the battle of the red lips Beauty Product Battles, Throw Downs and Showdowns, I don't foresee letting go of any products from this week's capsule. 

The same, however, could not be said for this past week's Discontinued Makeup Capsule. 

Week 47 Capsule Recap

Spoiler

What Worked:

These were the stars of the past week's discontinued products capsule. 

🌷  Stila Convertible Color for Lips & Cheeks (shade: Forget Me Not)

✨  Dior Backstage Contour Palette 001 Universal

💗  Cle de Peau Eyeshadow Quad

⭐  Laura Mercier Tightline Cake Eyeliner

👑  Lipstick Queen Frog Prince

🍬  Revlon Lip Butter Red Velvet

What Didn't Work: 

Everything here will be donated to a not-for-profit that assists women re-entering the workforce. 

💝  #lipstories Ditching Class barely gives off any color on my naturally more-pigmented lips

💝 Laura Mercier setting powder (the original version) -  I have a lot loose setting powder to make my way through. This one is nice, but not nice enough to justify keeping it with the others in the stash.

💝 Tone Up - I am pretty sure I have another one these somewhere in my collection in a better color match for me.

Declutter Dashboard
Week to date - 3
Month to date - 8

Happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating the holiday!

[PrettyPaint]

@itsfi I'm curious about that Valentino brow pencil! 

[itsfi]

@PrettyPaint, it's 3 brow products in one - a liquid, felt/brush tip liner (interesting for brows), a slanted flat tip liner (think  IT Cosmetics original brow liner), and a brow spoolie.

Top swatch is the liquid brush tip and the bottomis the slanted flat tip. This is the brown shade. I usually go for taupes or cool, ashy toned grey-browns. The color on the slanted tip liner looks like it might lean more warm than I prefer but I'll see how both of these wear during the week and get back to you. 

[PrettyPaint]

@itsfi Thank you for the swatches. That felt/brush tip line sounds interesting - hopefully it will allow for a natural look. I usually purchase taupe and ashy shades for my brows as well, so hopefully it won't run too warm for you.

[itsfi]

That's what I'm hoping for too @PrettyPaint! I'll keep you posted. The shade on the felt/brush tip side seems more cool toned, which is a plus. 

[ather]

@itsfi  Happy Thanksgiving week!!! I can’t wait to see how the throw down of the battle of the reds go and which ones are keepers and which ones get tossed!! 

This is such a perfect capsule! I love you are including the best T28 Sunnydays and the Rhode blush which are my all time favs!!! Plus I see you have a new brow liner to try. Looks like the perfect mix of favs and new items!! 

[itsfi]

@ather, results of Round 3 of the red lipstick battle are UP!! will be up later today - Battle of the Red Lipticks, Part 1: Round 3. I'll come back here to include a link to the post. It may be is photo-heavy. I had 8 reds this round. 💄 

The Tower 28 tint and Rhode blush stick are in my top 5 in both of their categories. In the beginning of this challenge, I used the Tower 28 a ton, which I'm all good with as it is what I would reach for most of the time anyways, but I dialed back the use to mostly weekends to allow myself more days to work through other foundations in my collection, but am bringing it back since I'm slowing down my new-to-me foundation testing with the end of the year. 

lol, you caught sight of the new brow pencil. 😅 Brow products in general are the smallest group in my collection and I think brow pencils are the one category I have the fewest products in - I have ... 3, maybe 4, right now and before this week, only 1 that's "in use" - in quotes because IF I put anything on my brows, it's usually a brow gel for me because ummmm, I'm lazy when it comes to my brows. In any event, it's about time to put these brow pencils to use / to the test. But before a battle of the brow pencils actually happens, I want to give them a try apart from comparing them to another product, to see how they wear best on me - and to see if they're even contenders for a brow pencil throwdown! 🥊

[ather]

@itsfi  Yay th r battle of the reds are up! I am looking for it now!! 

oooo another battle of the brows! I would be very invested in this one. Also I need to finish my battle of my brows. I think I have 2 more rounds. I will get on that!!

Did you find any new foundation loves?? Or is T28 still the best? 

[itsfi]

@ather, I have a few eyebrow pencils/liners and they don't see much use since I tend to reach for my eyebrow gels more often. It'll be good to put them to use and to compare the ones I have. After I find what works best, my plan is to find a good pairing with the pencil/liner and a brow gel. 

Tower 28 Beauty SunnyDays SPF 30 Tinted Sunscreen Foundation 15 Melrose is the one I usually reach for on days I'm not using the capsule I've put together for the week. This year has been great for me when it comes to foundations - working through the ones in my collection and finding new ones that work well for m😁 Tower 28 and Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Perfect Glow Flawless Oil-Free Foundation are still among my favorites. I've been really impressed with Urban Decay Face Bond Self Setting Waterproof Foundation and SEPHORA COLLECTION Reveal The Real 12HR Soft Radiant Skin Tint and happy that I picked up both this year. The Dior reformulated foundations are all good, though some of the shades are smidge different than their older counterparts. 

Right now the LYS Beauty Triple Fix Serum Foundation has really piqued my interest. I have a generous size sample I'm playing with and it has performed very well when I have used it. There are a couple of others that I have on my list of things to test more next year, but I've had some good results with the vast majority of the ones I tried this year.

[ather]

@itsfi  Ooooo I don’t think I have tried any of those brands. I am interested in the Sephora Collection one! They usually match my skin! I’ll have to check them out! 

[danielledanielle]

@itsfi, that is a lot of grateful goodness..eyes Dior bag 👀

Honeymoon is def your color, and interesting about the YSL blush colors because that lavender shade was quite controversial, but it's almost like a color corrector vs a blush in that use? I feel like that's what they should've said it was vs a universal shade 🙄 A part of me feels like it was deliberate - cause controversy for clicks, and here I am talking about it 🤦🏽‍♀️

Also, there are a few items you've enabled, inspired, so I'm very much about this selection 😂

[itsfi]

@danielledanielle, the Dior bag is really cute

and soft!! I keep telling myself to stop touching it 😝 wonder what the over under will be on how soon I get foundation stains on it. 🙄 That’s what the washing machine is for. Ha! 

I shake my head when I see beauty brands label certain shades as “universal”. They should have called this one a blush topper imo. Color corrector would have been a better choice for sure - I sorta feel it’s on the light side for a corrector (though I suppose it could work as such for those with the fairest of complexions), but yes, 💯 something other than universal. 

lol, now I’m intrigued - whatcha thinking about … researching more? 😜 

[itsfi]

Before the holidays take over and time gets away from me, a few things to note - 

🎶  Capsule themes through the end of the year have been posted to the original post (OP) ⬆️

❓  Question: What was / were your favorite theme(s) from this year's capsules (or the ones we've had so far)? Can't remember all the themes? There's a list of them in the original post above, in the spoiler under the "Previous Makeup Capsule Themes" heading.

❤️  In advance of Thanksgiving here in the U.S. (I woke up this morning to the realization that Thanksgiving is next week 😲), wanted to say "Thank you!" to everyone for your participation! 

[caitbird]

@itsfi  thank YOU for creating and running this super fun thread/challenge, it's been so fun to participate and see everyone elses's capsules and fav products and interpretations of different themes! Looking forward to the rest of the themes for this year, and hopefully next year too!

My favorite themes so far - I liked the Black owned/founded, AAPI owned/founded, LatinX owned/founded, etc. capsule themes, they spurred me to do some research and learn more about diverse brand founders in my collection, which was very educational! I also liked the Sticks and (Gem)Stones theme, and the various Throw Down/Throw Out capsule themes, which encouraged me to think about items I wanted to try out/try again/possibly declutter!

[itsfi]

Thank you @caitbird for your very kind words. I've had a blast doing this challenge with you and others. 100% agree - I love seeing everyone's capsules and our interpretations on the themes. 😍 Oooh, I love all themes you mentioned and they will all be coming back next year; some in the same format as they presented themselves this year and others, with a bit of a twist. 😉

[CynthieLu]

And a huge Thank you!! For a fabulous and fun year of capsules @itsfi It is approaching, a very busy season. I can't even wrap my mind around everything I need to do accomplish before Christmas 🙈 and you folks in the US have Thanksgiving now. That's a lot! I hope you have a lovely turkey day and enjoy it all so much. 🧡🤎

My favorite part of the Capsule Challenge has been seeing what everyone has picked and the conversations after. 😀

Is this a theme? Putting on the Glitz? Something focused on sparkles, glitter, highlights and everything bright? I feel like it must have been but I'll go back and check. 😜

[itsfi]

@CynthieLu, there have been some prompts that could/did lend themselves to sparkle 😉 ✨ or maybe all of them could. 😊 An actual glitz and glam theme though has  been set for the end of the year, so a favorite theme to come works. 

[CynthieLu]

Ahhh yes, I think a few did lend to this quality. I know a few times I went looking for something shiny and bright 😎☀️ @itsfi 

[danielledanielle]

@itsfi,

Favorites 🤔

These all basically reflect my own biases/preferences, buuuuttttt you asked

• Black owned brands
• Stick week!!!!
• One brand or all the brands
• Global Capsule
• Dynamic Duos/Trios
• Fast & Furious

[itsfi]

This is what I was looking for @danielledanielle; thank you! Half of the themes you mentioned are already in play for the first quarter of next year 😍 and the other half looks like they have an excellent chance of being prompts for next year as well. 👍

Edited to add: There's a sticks 2.0 week on the schedule in December.