How To Remove Makeup Stains On Leather Handbags

Handbags can become damaged and unsightly when makeup is not removed

Understand Makeup On Leather

A luxurious leather handbag is not merely an accessory; it's a reflection of your style and sophistication. The distressing sight of makeup stains can be disheartening, but fear not – the professional use LRC7 Aniline Leather Cleaner is your secret weapon for restoring the pristine allure of your beloved handbag. We'll take you through a step-by-step guide, ensuring that your cherished accessory emerges unscathed and even more radiant.

Before diving into the cleaning process, let's take a moment to appreciate the beauty of aniline leather and semi aniline leather. Known for their natural appearance and soft, supple feel, aniline and semi aniline leather is a premium material that deserves meticulous care. LRC7 Aniline Leather Cleaner is specially designed to nurture this elegance.

Makeup can be a stubborn product to remove from leather as it embeds itself in the grain and the pigments in the makeup can create staining that requires colour renovation, so it’s important that makeup is removed quickly to avoid more costly damage that requires further products to restore the colour.

What You Need 

Depending on the type of leather you have, you will require either aniline leather  cleaner or luxury leather cleaner on semi aniline and nappa leather and LRC1 leather cleaner on pigmented leather. For protection you will need Protection Cream, Leather Protection Spray or Leather Guard®. Cleaning Brushes, you will need a soft brush we suggest the Tampico Leather Cleaning Brush as well as the small horse hair leather brush to get into tight areas, along with the bamboo cleaning pad and the bamboo towels to clean away any cleaning fluid.

The Cleaning Stages

Spray the leather cleaner directly onto the areas to be cleaned, with any form of aniline, you have to clean the full item, you cannot do spot cleaning as you will create tide marks where you have cleaned and it’s dried out.

Very gently using your fingers to rub the cleaning solution into the makeup, this is to begin the process of breaking down the makeup or foundation, makeup is mostly oil based so it's naturally waterproof and we need to break down the makeup slowly to remove it effectively.

Once this has been carried out you can then begin to use a soft bristle brush like a horsehair brush to clean your handbag. Working in a circular motion spray the leather cleaner into the brush and gently work this into the makeup foundation to break it down, using a soft bamboo fibre towel wipe away fluid as you clean this will also help to wipe away the makeup as you break it down. The other alternative is using a bamboo fibre application cleaning pad to rub over the surface to remove the foundation.

The Protection Stage

Once you are happy with the cleaning steps, let your handbag air dry naturally. Avoid using artificial heat sources, as this can compromise the leather's natural oils, leading to dryness and brittleness.

Makeup and foundation acts a barrier to seal the leather and stop it breathing as it should, this can cause drying out of the leather hide and cracking to start leading to more extensive damage in time.

If you wish you can use the leather softening crème to apply some suppleness to the handbag before applying a leather protector.  Always apply all products in a circular motion. 

If you apply leather softening crème before you apply a protection cream or a leather protection spray wipe over the handbag to remove any excess softening crème before applying any other product. 

This video will help guide you through the right products for your aniline and semi aniline leather and in what order to use them.