Looking good is hard work, but knowing your way around cosmetics sure makes it easier. A touch of mascara and a hint of blush, and voila! You’re red carpet ready in no time!
But see, the annoying thing about makeup is how one wrong move can mess up your entire look. Changing your outfit because of beauty bloopers like your lipstick landing on your sleeve or a drop of liquid foundation making its way to your collar is tragedy enough. But the heartbreak of having to throw away your wardrobe faves because you don’t know how to get makeup out of clothes is much worse!
Buying a new top after every makeup mishap, or fielding sympathetic glances at the dry cleaners isn’t always the best solution.
But we have the answers!
Whether it’s the basics of how to get cosmetics out of clothes, or specific issues such as how to remove lipstick stains from clothes, here are the top five laundry hacks for dealing with makeup mishaps!
The Basics of How to Get Cosmetics Out of Clothes
If you don’t know the first thing about waging war with makeup stains, this short primer will get you up to speed:
- Treat it ASAP – The sooner you treat a makeup stain, the easier (and more effective) it is to remove.
- Dab, don’t rub – Rubbing the spot only pushes the makeup further into your clothes and makes the stain worse. Instead, use a damp cloth or paper towel to dab the spot.
- Learn to spot when doing nothing is best – Avoid scrambling around and throwing everything in your arsenal at a stain when the best thing to do is nothing. The worst thing with stains is letting them seep in and settle—so unless you’re sure what to do, don’t take any risks with garments you care about.
These three tips should serve as the core of your knowledge base. From there, it’s all about getting a bit more specific with what you’ve got. Let’s get into that now!
Our 5 Best Laundry Hacks for Makeup Mishaps
The basics can get you through most cosmetics-related laundry trouble, but you’ll need to know a few more tricks of the trade for specific stains. Here are five of our best ones!
How to remove foundation stains from clothes
Foundation might cover up the odd blemish on our face, but it can stand out like a beacon on clothes, beckoning everyone to come and take a gander.
For liquid foundation, here’s what you need to do:
- Blot with a cloth to remove as much of the stain as possible.
- Rinse the garment in warm water then pre-treat it with your favorite liquid detergent. We like working the detergent into the stain with an old toothbrush to make sure it really gets down deep. Let the garment soak for 15-20 minutes.
- Wash the garment without rinsing off the detergent—the warmer the better! Consult the care label of your garment to see how high you can go.
More of a powder foundation kind of gal?
Instead of blotting with a cloth, just shake off your garment then run some warm water from behind the powder stain to flush it out. Do the same pre-treatment and wash cycle outlined above and you should be good!
How to remove ointment stains from clothes
We all used to snicker at our grandmas and grandpas walking around smelling like a pharmacy but time catches up to us all—now we love our ointments! We don’t necessarily like to advertise that fact, though, which is why dealing with ointment stains is so important.
Here’s how we enjoy the medicinal benefits of ointment while keeping our stylish reputations intact:
- Scrape off as much ointment as possible with a spoon or dull knife.
- Rinse the garment in warm water, then pre-treat it with your favorite liquid detergent. Make sure to really work the detergent into that stain!
- Let the garment soak for 15-20 minutes then wash as usual in the warmest water the garment can handle.
How to get toothpaste stains out of clothes
We’ve all been through it: brushing our teeth extra fast while doing something else and then BAM! A big blob of toothpaste now sits triumphantly on your shirt. So how do you get it out?
- Use a spoon or dull knife to lift as much toothpaste from the fabric as possible.
- Get a white cloth and dip one corner into a 50-50 mix of liquid detergent and water—use that to dab at the stain until it lifts. A scooping motion works very well if there are still some solids there.
- Use a clean corner of that same cloth and dip it into water before wiping away all the remaining traces of the stain. Air dry afterward and you’re good to go!
How to remove lipstick stains from clothes
Lipstick stains aren’t as bad as they look. A good stain remover is all you really need:
- Spray or rub the stain remover directly on the stain, letting it stay for 15-20 minutes. For deeper stains, you might want to use your finger to really work the stain remover into the fabric.
- Once set, just wash the garment as usual with your favorite liquid detergent.
How to remove nail polish from fabric
Now this one is best left to experts. But we’re not going to dissuade any budding DIY-ers from trying. We respect the hustle and we’re here to provide backup:
- Leave it alone for a bit—you want the nail polish as dry as it can be so you can chip away at the dried bits with your nail.
- Dip a cloth in nail polish remover like acetone then dab at the stain. Test on a hidden part of the garment first to make sure you’re not discoloring the fabric.
- You want to wash the garment in cold water this time, then dry as normal. If the stain is still there, you just may have to consult a professional.
Cross the Finish Line with hampr
Did pre-treating those makeup stains tire you out from actually finishing the job with some good old-fashioned washing? We’ll take it from here!
With hampr’s expert washrs, flat-rate pricing, 24-hour turnaround guarantee, and hassle-free pickups and deliveries, all your hard work won’t go to waste. Download the hampr app on Google Play or the App Store today and let us do the dirty work for you!
