How To Remove Makeup Stains From Your Carpet?

We’ve all been there – a splodge of red nail varnish or a drop of foundation lands, almost in slow motion, onto your carpet. And now you’re left wondering what on earth to do next. But just because you’ve spilled a little makeup, doesn’t mean you have to rip up carpets or get rid of your favourite rug. By following our cleaning hacks for removing makeup from your carpet, you won’t have to worry any about long lasting damage!

So, to discover how to get everything from nail varnish to foundation safely out of your carpet, read below.

Before we get into the nitty gritty of how to get certain cosmetic items up, let’s first look at some general top tips to remove makeup from your carpet.

To improve the chances of removing makeup from your carpet, it’s best to be always prepared for accidental makeup spillages by having the following items to hand:

• Cleaning solution
• White cloth
• Paper towels
• Clean water
• Plastic spoon or knife
• Towel

One of the best ways to remove makeup from your carpet is to act fast. No matter how big or small, delaying your makeup removal is more likely to leave you with permanent stains than if you deal with it straight away.

When removing makeup from your carpet DO NOT RUB IT! Now, the capitals might seem over the top, but you actually run the risk of damaging the carpet or spreading the stain further if you rub it. Instead, first try carefully removing excess makeup from the carpet with your plastic spoon. Scooping the makeup off of the carpet, gently, before you go in with blotting a damp cloth lightly over the stain – repeating as necessary.

Once you have removed the makeup from your carpet, cover the spot with a dry towel or paper towel to soak up any excess moisture, leaving it to dry completely. And when the area has dried, use one of our cordless vacuum cleaners to clean the area of any residue left behind.

It’s important to use the right cleaning solution when looking to remove makeup from your carpet - and each cosmetic stain can be fixed with a specific chemical. And now you know the basics, let’s get down to business of how to remove makeup and the likes from your carpet!

Wondering how to get lipstick out of your carpet? Well, rubbing alcohol will do the trick! First, take a white cloth – this is important to prevent colour transfer from the cloth to your carpet – and dab on some rubbing alcohol. Once the cloth is adequately saturated, gently dab the cloth over the stain, being careful not to be too heavy handed to avoid the stain getting deeper into the carpet.

You can keep repeating this method until the lipstick is out of the carpet. Once done, leave a dry towel or paper towel over the stain to help it dry quicker. 

Getting nail polish out of your carpet is super simple, just use nail polish remover (be sure to use a non-acetone remover only) for this trick. The acetone chemical found in some nail varnish removers can bleach or remove colour when used on fabrics such as carpets. Additional, if allowed to soak down to the base, acetone can damage the glue, causing your carpet to bunch up.

So, once you have your non-acetone nail varnish remover, you can take a cotton pad and pop some remover onto it. Lightly dab the remover-soaked pad onto the nail varnish in your carpet, repeating as many times as required.  

You can get foundation out of carpet with a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution. While not every supermarket will stock this, you can usually grab a bottle from a pharmacy or high street drug store, as it is more commonly used to treat small cuts and burns. Pop a bit of this premixed solution – and the 3% is important as anything more could bleach your carpet – into a sprayable bottle. Spray a few times over the stain and let the solution soak into the carpet for 30 minutes to an hour, adjusting depending how stubborn the stain is.

Once the solution has had time to work its magic, spray some plain, cold water over the area. Then, lightly dab the stain with a clean cloth to remove any excess. Et voila - you’re done, this should help get any foundation out of your carpet!

Want to know how to get mascara out of your carpet using one eco-friendly household essential? Well, grab your dishwashing liquid and let’s get started. Simply combine a squeeze (or a ¼ tea spoon to be specific) of washing-up liquid with a cup of warm water. Take a fresh cloth and soak up some of the liquid. Then, carefully dab over the mascara in the carpet until the stain is gone – it’s that simple!

And the best part is that this trick will work for get both waterproof and regular mascara out of your carpet!

And we have another household essential stepping up, this time we’re looking to mild laundry detergent to get eyeshadow out of your carpet. Simply mix together some cold water and a bit of detergent – ¼ teaspoon of detergent to a cup of water - before lightly blotting the mixture onto the stain with a clean towel. Once done, place a dry towel over the stain to help lift the eyeshadow out of the carpet.

If you used powder detergent, give it a little once over with one of our cordless hoovers after you’ve got the eyeshadow out of your carpet. This will get rid of any lingering bits of detergent, leaving you with a carpet as-good-as-new. And guess what? This method is ideal for getting blusher, eyeshadow, power foundation, and any other powder-based makeups out of your carpet as well!

With your new cleaning tips to remove makeup from your carpet done and dusted, you might be looking for some advice on ways to remove other stains or even odours from your carpet. Head over to our blog to learn how to remove red wine stains from carpet, as well as how to get pet odour out of your carpet.