Removing Make-up Stains – Foundation, Lipstick and Mascara

Almost all make-up is pigment in oil and wax

Foundation, lipstick, mascara, eyeshadow and blush look different but are built to the same recipe: colour pigment carried in a base of oils, waxes and sometimes silicone. That explains two things. First, rinsing with water alone does nothing – the grease repels water, just like a grease stain. Second, the worst thing you can do is rub: that smears the pigment around and works it down into the weave. The right way is to dissolve the greasy binder first, then gently lift the colour out.

Make-up on the collar – step by step

This is the classic foundation ring on a shirt collar, but the same method works for lipstick and other liquid make-up elsewhere on the garment.

1. Gently scrape off anything sitting on top of the fabric with a blunt edge – a spoon or a card. With lipstick you lift the blob off, you don't smear it.
2. Place a clean paper towel or cloth under the stain, so the pigment has somewhere to go.
3. Rub a little dish soap or an oil-free make-up remover straight onto the stain – both are made to dissolve make-up – and let it work for a few minutes.
4. Dab from the back with a damp cloth, pushing the colour out of the fabric rather than deeper in.
5. Wash at the warmest temperature the fabric tolerates per the care label, and check the stain is gone before drying.

Powder, long-wear and waterproof mascara

Not all make-up behaves the same, and a couple of types need a different approach:

• Powder make-up (blush, eyeshadow, setting powder): brush or shake off the dry powder first. Wet it straight away and you make a bigger colour stain than you started with.
• Waterproof mascara and long-wear or transfer-proof lipstick: these are built to resist both water and rubbing, and rarely give in to dish soap alone. A solvent is often needed – test a little surgical spirit on a hidden seam first, as alcohol can pull colour out of some fabrics.
• Silicone-based primers and foundation: same principle – it is the greasy, silicone-rich base that has to be dissolved before the colour lets go.

The colour left behind

Once the grease is dissolved, a faint colour tint can remain – especially from pigment-rich foundation or strong lipstick. On white and colourfast cotton you can soak the garment in an oxygen-based bleach, which is gentle on fibres. Do not use chlorine bleach on wool, silk or elastane. And do not tumble dry until the stain is completely gone – heat sets both the grease and the pigment.

Silk, delicate collars and 'dry clean only'

On silk, wool, satin and structured collars, aggressive treatment is risky: you can dull the surface, leave water rings or loosen the colour in the fabric. If the garment is labelled 'dry clean only', or you are unsure of the fabric, don't experiment. A silk blouse with lipstick or a wool blazer with foundation on the collar is safest in professional cleaning.

Send the garment to us

If the make-up stain is on a delicate or expensive garment, is waterproof or long-wear, or has had time to set, you can send the garment to us wherever you are in Norway. Dry cleaning uses a solvent that dissolves grease and wax gently, without damaging the fibres, and professional treatment takes the fabric and its care label into account. You describe the stain when you order, and you see the price before you order.

Frequently asked questions