The Pink Stuff Review: A fun laundry detergent

We’re living in a #CleanTok world where, with the right marketing, cleaning products are now celebrities.

Need evidence? Giving off serious Barbiecore energy, The Pink Stuff, promised to smell like rhubarb and advertised as a vegan, cruelty-free, non-toxic, hot pink collection of spritzes, powders, pastes, drops, scrubs and detergents, became a social media phenomenon during Covid-19. And now it also comes with a cult following.

But I didn't know any of that when I got hooked on this bubblegum-colored cleaning stuff myself.

My gateway drug into The Pink Stuff orbit was the laundry detergent, titled The Miracle Laundry Detergent Bio Liquid, claiming to swiftly remove tough stains, with seven days of freshness to follow. It's a fairly straightforward laundry detergent: You pour the liquid into your dispenser or right into the drum, hit start and walk away.

The liquid laundry detergent seems to be The Pink Stuff's underdog, only because it gets less social media hype than, say, the Miracle Cleaning Paste, which influencers everywhere are obsessed with. The price point for the detergent ($12.99 on The Pink Stuff's website, for 30 washes) is a few bucks higher than the same size of All, for example, but you’re paying for excellent quality and — like it or not — overall "snob appeal."

The detergent definitely elevated my laundry game. The scent is lovely, but not overpowering. And yes, somehow, the allure of using the cool kids’ cleaning supplies makes piles of dirty laundry a lot less dreadful. Hate the game, not the player!

The Pink Stuff laundry detergent not only gets your clothes clean and ultra soft, but the subtle yet unique scent and viral style make it a low-cost — and fun —way of doing laundry.

Eight years ago, when I decided to become a mother, I somehow was not expecting the infinite laundry. I knew about the hormones. And the sleep deprivation. And the art of the elastic waistband. But I was not warned about the abundance of "house chores." Specifically those involving piles of dirty clothes.

Mind you, like many single parents with little time to spare, I despise cleaning. I am also someone deeply envious of those with housekeepers or nannies or mother-in-laws with OCD who come and scrub the house because they "just can't help themselves!" I have none of those things.

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But I’m not bitter! Because what I do have are a lot of friends. And one of those friends, who happens to have kids just as scrubby and scrappy as mine, and also lives in my apartment building, always smells like crisp, fresh heaven. More specifically, like a cold watermelon spritz swirled with diamond-shaped ice cubes in a French, crystal cocktail flute. And somehow, her kids smell just as fabulous.

Recently, I finally inquired what her secret is. And she promptly sent me a link to The Pink Stuff laundry detergent. She buys her stash off Amazon but I found it was cheaper to get it via their website. I added some of The Pink Stuff's other cleaning supplies into my cart too, because I figured it was worth doubling down on the brand if it was something that ended up tickling me.

When everything arrived, I broke right into the detergent. The first thing I noticed was how pleasant it smelled, which was a plus from the first twist of the lid. And for me, that's worth a lot. I’ve worn the same Jo Malone — Wood Sage & Sea Salt — for as long as I can remember. And I’d spend my last dollar on a Dyptique Baies candle. You get the point.

After a few weeks of using The Pink Stuff detergent, all of our clothes and sheets feel cleaner, brighter and significantly more fragrant in the most low-key rhubarb-watermelon-y possible way. Like, it's not overpowering or sickly sweet smelling. I tested it on a brand-new set of Brooklinen sheets, and they came out a touch more vibrant and way softer. (Note: I don't use softener because Pink Stuff does the job of both products.)

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It should be said that the entire line of The Pink Stuff products are also visually attractive — and admittedly, tres chic. Which may not matter to everyone, but for those of us who tend to procrastinate cleaning, it can be that little extra push we need.

So, yes. This detergent gets the job done and then some. But the real "miracle" in the The Miracle Laundry Detergent is, in fact, that I’m a happier person because of it. And that's a sentiment I never could have predicted.