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How To Remove Makeup From Carpet

With the current trends of contouring, shimmery highlighters and smoky cat eyes, makeup application is a full-fledged art form. But while these products and techniques can enhance a person’s natural beauty, they won’t do a carpet any favors when they spill or get trampled in.

That’s why every aspiring makeup artist should have a few cleaning tricks up their sleeves. Learn how to remove eye makeup from carpet, so you don’t have to panic when drops and spills occur.

Note: Before attempting to clean your carpeting using any of the following methods, you should first consult your manufacturer’s care instructions and conduct a spot test on a small inconspicuous patch.

Cleaning Foundation from Carpeting

True beauty experts may debate whether or not to apply foundation to your lids as a basecoat, but that’s a topic for another forum. Here’s what to do if you’re priming your eyelids and happen to elbow that bottle off the table.

You’ll need:
  1. Immediately after a spill, use a butter knife or spoon to scrape any excess foundation from the carpet. It’s important to do this right away so the foundation doesn’t reach the backing and cause a deeper stain.
  2. Mix a few drops of dish soap with the cold water.
  3. Lightly dampen your cloth or paper towel with the soap mixture and gently blot at the stain, working from the outside in. Take care not to scrub or rub the carpeting here, as this could result in the stain setting further into the fibers.
  4. Keep dabbing at the stain until there’s no more foundation in the carpet.
  5. Dampen a clean microfiber cloth or paper towel in plain water. Use this to remove any traces of your soapy mixture.
  6. Blot the area dry with a fresh microfiber cloth.
  7. After the affected patch of carpeting has dried completely, vacuum the spot where the stain was.

How to Remove Eyeliner from Carpet

Though you might not run into many problems with an eyeliner pencil, liquid eyeliner can make a massive mess if a bottle gets knocked over. You can tackle this problem using the steps for cleaning foundation laid out above. If that doesn’t work, you can move on to stronger options.

You’ll need:
  • ½ cup warm water
  • 1 teaspoon vinegar
  • Microfiber cloths
  1. Mix the vinegar with the water.
  2. Dab a cloth into the solution, then use this to blot at the stain. Make sure you’re working from the outside in.
  3. Blot until there’s no more eyeliner left in the carpet.
  4. Lightly dampen a clean microfiber cloth with plain water and blot to get rid of any remaining vinegar solution.
  5. Gently pat dry with a fresh microfiber cloth.

Getting Eyeshadow out of Carpets

Eyeshadow can present a unique challenge when you’re trying to figure out how to remove eye makeup from carpet. Why? Well, many eye shadows are oil based, which means they can be harder to clean.

You’ll need:
  • Hydrogen peroxide
  • Water
  • Microfiber cloths
Note: Hydrogen peroxide is best for lighter carpets, since it does have bleaching properties.
  1. Apply a couple of drops of hydrogen peroxide directly to the stain. Dab to distribute, but do not rub or scrub as this can embed the stain in the carpet fibers.
  2. Let this sit for one minute.
  3. Blot clean with a dry microfiber cloth.
  4. Dampen a new microfiber cloth with clean water and use this to remove any traces of the hydrogen peroxide. Again, don’t scrub.
  5. Use one last cloth to pat the area dry.
Tip: This solution can also be used for other oil-based makeup products.

How to Remove Mascara from Carpet

Mascara may help your eyes pop, but it can also lead to disastrous effects when it’s spilled on your carpet. And, unfortunately, waving a mascara wand won’t make stains magically disappear.

You’ll need:
  • Eye makeup remover
  • Cold water
  • Microfiber cloths
  1. Apply the eye makeup remover directly to a microfiber cloth. This step is very important because you don’t want the cleaner to reach the carpet backing.
  2. Gently blot at the stain until all the mascara has been removed.
  3. Reapply the eye makeup remover to a fresh cloth as needed.
  4. Dampen a microfiber cloth with the cold water and use this to get rid of any makeup remover remnants.
  5. Blot the area dry with a clean microfiber cloth.
Of course, if you don’t spill your beauty products on the floor, you won’t have to worry about how to remove eye makeup from carpet in the first place. Therefore, it’s a good idea to lay a towel or old sheet down under your mirror or vanity area.

And those that find the above methods don’t work for them may need to consider looking at other options, like learning how to deep clean a carpet or even calling a professional like ServiceMaster Clean.

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