Kayla Young
Thought it would be cute to leave a love note to your significant other where they wouldn’t miss it? Or maybe the kids got into your makeup bag? Sometimes lipstick on a mirror happens. Now what?
Does lipstick come off a mirror? Yes, it does. But putting lipstick on a mirror is a lot easier than taking it off. Simply wiping it will only smudge the lipstick.
In this article, we are going to show you how to get lipstick off a mirror. We’ll also discuss how to avoid getting lipstick on your drinking glass so you won’t have to worry about ugly marks on your glass or having to clean it off afterward.
Contents
Does Lipstick Come Off A Mirror?
Lipstick will come off a mirror, but it’s going to take more than just a damp cloth.
Different lipsticks will have different ingredients, but they are all primarily made with some type of wax, oil, and pigments.
It’s this combination that makes lipstick so hard to remove, whether we’re talking clothes, carpet, or a mirror. because these ingredients are not water-soluble.
To get lipstick off a mirror you are going to need something that breaks down the waxes, oils, and pigments.
To get lipstick off a mirror you are going to need something that breaks down the waxes, oils, and pigments.
We’ve put together a few different solutions you can try that will do just that.
How To Get Lipstick Off A Mirror
If you’ve ever tried wiping lipstick off a mirror, you know it just makes more of a mess that seems virtually impossible to clean.
But we have put together a few different methods of removing lipstick from a mirror that is surprisingly simple, made with stuff you probably already have around your house.
Method #1 – Rubbing Alcohol
What You’ll Need:
- Rubbing alcohol
- A soft cloth or a cotton swab
- Glass cleaner
- A microfiber cloth
Directions:
Moisten the cloth or swab with rubbing alcohol and dab the lipstick mark. It should come off. Clean the mirror with a glass cleaner to remove any hazy residue.
This method is best if you have a little lipstick mark on the mirror you want to remove. But if the kids got into your makeup bag and have drawn all over it, you’ll need alcohol in a spray bottle.
Spray the entire area and dab (not wipe!) the lipstick. You may have to repeat the process. Then clean with a glass cleaner. Or you can try one of the other methods below.
Method #2 – Dish Soap
What You’ll Need:
- Dish soap
- A microfiber cloth
- water
Directions:
Apply some liquid dish soap (a great color remover!) to the lipstick and leave it there to emulsify the wax and break down the oil in the lipstick.
Use a microfiber cloth and water to remove the lipstick and dish soap.
Method #3 – Cornstarch & Vinegar
What You’ll Need:
- ½ cup water
- ½ tbs cornstarch
- ½ cup white vinegar
- Spray bottle
- Microfiber cloth
Directions:
Pour the ½ cup of water, ½ cup of white vinegar, and ½ tablespoon of cornstarch into a spray bottle. The cornstarch gives some texture to the cleaning solution and acts as a gentle scrub.
Shake well. Make sure there are no clumps of cornstarch in the bottle. Clumps will clog the tube in the spray bottle and the cleaning solution will not work effectively.
After it’s been thoroughly mixed, spray the solution all over the mirror.
Using the microfiber cloth to wipe down the mirror in a zigzag pattern, being sure not to go over the areas you’ve already wiped. If you wipe back and forth, you’re just going to wipe the lipstick on the cloth back onto the area you just wiped.
How Do You Keep Lipstick Off Glass?
Apart from being a social faux-pas to leave lipstick marks on your glass, it’s a real pain to clean. Lipstick is so stubborn to clean from glasses that even industrial restaurant dishwashers don’t always remove it.
The trick is not to get lipstick on the glass at all. The way to do that is surprisingly easy.
Lick your lips and lick the glass!
The tricky part is not being too obvious. Moisten your lips and as you bring the glass to your mouth, surreptitiously, moisten the rim of the glass where your bottom lip makes contact.
Why it works is the same reason why you can’t just clean lipstick off a mirror with a wet cloth. Water doesn’t mix with oils and waxes. Your saliva makes a barrier between your lipstick and the glass.
Your other option is to opt for a transfer-proof lipstick.
Going for a lipstick that is specially formulated to stay put and not come off, is an even better way to ensure you don’t leave any dreaded lipstick marks on your glass. Just a word to the wise; these types of lipsticks will probably be even harder to remove from a mirror, so maybe stick with post-it notes instead.
