How To Create a Capsule Beauty Collection

Feeling bombarded with the amount of beauty products you’ve got lying around? Take a look inside your makeup bag (or your IKEA Alex drawers, haha.) Do you actually reach for all of those products on a daily basis? NEITHER DO I! Therefore…

Experiment time!

Perhaps you’ve already heard the term “capsule wardrobe” used in the fashion industry. The term was created in the 70’s by Susie Faux, the owner of a London boutique called “Wardrobe.” It simply means a curated collection of things that suit you well and will never go out of style. A beauty capsule collection is just that. It is a curated collection of beauty products. It is your makeup bag filled with just enough products to create a full face of makeup. Capsule Collection is just the fancy term.

Think back to your very first visit to the Clinique counter (because I’m sure that’s where you went.) You probably left that day with a very small collection of items that were easy to use and suited you well. In my eyes, that is the epitome of the capsule beauty collection. Colors, formulas (and prices) that are fool proof and we know will always make us look smokin’ hot!

How does one create a capsule beauty collection? I thought you’d never ask. : )

Out with the old

Notice I didn’t mention “in with the new.” A capsule beauty collection is NOT about running out and spending hundreds of dollars on new products. It is about shopping our existing collections and picking out those products that we’ve trusted for years! The “out with the old” part entails of ridding your collection of products that no longer suit you or are expired. For the love of God, PLEASE throw away that mascara you’ve had for 2 years. And that electric blue shadow you wore to your Kappa Delta 80’s party?

Yep. Toss that, too.

Make a list

Now that you’ve gotten rid of all the products that no longer served you well, let’s make a list of our ideal beauty collection. Everyone’s capsule collection will look a bit different. So really think, what products do you use every single day and cannot live without? Not everyone wears red lipstick but if you rock a red lip daily, put it on the list!

Now you can see what exactly you need to keep in your collection (at least for this capsule experiment.) The rest? Don’t worry, it’s not going anywhere. Just put it off to the side for the moment.

Choose your favorites

This is a no brainer. You know which products are your favorites. These are the products that you reach for the most. The products that suit your skin tone, work well with your skin type and receive the most love. Create a separate pile for these and separate them from the rest of your products. Remember, what we have in front of us now are only things that we love and are not expired. Everything is fair game!

Slim down

Now that you have your beauty besties in front of you, let’s cut down this collection even more! Note: If you only have the absolute minimal (1 blush, 1 highlight, 1 lipstick, etc.) then skip this step. But, if you’ve chosen all your favorites and still have 6 blushes, read on!

Take a look at what’s in front of you. I know it’s insanely difficult (particularly if you’re a beauty junkie, like myself) but remember, this is an experiment. You don’t have to sustain this idea and the products that you don’t choose aren’t going anywhere! Ideally, you’ll want to have 1 or two products in each category (i.e. 1 foundation, 2 lipsticks, 2 blushes, 1 bronzer, etc.)

Storage

We’re almost there! Ok, so you’ve got your little collection in front of you. The rest of your products that didn’t make the cut (that sounds so depressing, lol) but let’s store those away for now. We are NOT throwing them away. Let’s just store them elsewhere so that we, for the sake of this experiment, only focus on our new capsule collection. Also, choose how you want to store your newly curated collection of beauty goodies!  Maybe bring out your favorite makeup bag and store them in there. Might I also suggest cleaning your products (a wet washcloth will do.) There is nothing more satisfying than cleaning off all the powder and fingerprints from our beauty products. They will feel brand new!

Congratulations! You have now created your personal capsule beauty collection! Woo hoo! I think this is a fantastic way to take inventory of what you already own and also open your eyes to what you truly need. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in all of the new launches that we forget what we have (and what we actually use.) I can’t tell you the number of palettes I used to purchase simply because they were limited edition and had gorgeous packaging. Guess where most of those palettes ended up? Sitting in the back of my makeup drawers, untouched. I already owned SO many palettes and let’s be honest with ourselves…one can only use so many eyeshadows on one’s eyelids! I would purchase new products yet still reach for the same peachy pink blush I’d been wearing for years. Why? Because it suits me.  I know that it compliments my skin tone and I never had to wonder if it would look right. I knew that it always would.

You certainly don’t have to continue this practice of having a capsule beauty collection but I do think it’s a fun way to reevaluate what works for you as well as fall back in love with products that you already own.

Let me know if you give it a try and happy capsuling! (Is that a word?) : )

Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful!

Love and light, Carrie xo