Within seconds of meeting Trinny Woodall, 58, it becomes clear why her beauty brand is estimated at $300 million. Her passion for her craft leaps out in introduction, asking me if I want to do my skincare routine.
“Of cour-“. I’m interrupted by a blur of blue and enthusiasm as the CEO sweeps into the bathroom.
I, a deer in skincare headlights, quickly follow – and try to remember if serums come before oils.
My wandering brain ceases just as quickly as Trinny plants herself at the sink beside me and begins spurting knowledge like a very hydrated fountain.
“How many times have you done this today?” I ask
“Yesterday I did eight,” she replies, laughing at her overly plump skin.
There are officially Trinny London pop ups in Australia.
(Image: Getty)The 58-year-old wastes no time in teaching me how to massage my lymph nodes and temples. “Circular movements like that, just tiny ones right by the ear,” she instructs. “You feel that gentle tingle?”
She starts aggressively flicking her fingers underneath her cheek bones. “Just a little bit of lifting like this…” the expert explains. “To get that oxygen.”
I timidly caress my cheeks, scared to stir the old acne-monsters from their hopefully permanent slumber. “I’m more aggressive with my skin,” Trinny observes, complimenting my gentle approach.
I consider telling her about the acne monsters – in perhaps less-juvenile terms – before she says: “I have very acn-ied skin which gave me a lot of scarring; it made my skin, in a way, stronger.”
‘Good to know’, I think, and apply more pressure.
“I have very acn-ied skin which gave me a lot of scarring; it made my skin, in a way, stronger.”
(Image: Trinny London)“As we go down the path of life, these just come down,” the England local says, gesturing back to her very plump cheeks (which really do seem blissfully ignorant to the existence of gravity). “I love, every day, just to have that little moment of reminding your cheek bones to stay higher.
“Continual practice and repetition is a very important part of skincare,” Trinny adds, before turning to me and saying: “Then we’ll just get rid of any worried and furrowed brow.” I mentally chastise my deer-in-headlights face that potentially prompted the remark.
“Push the product into your eyebrows and over,” Trinny ends. I am now a visibly glowier deer with unruly, though undoubtedly hydrated, eyebrows.
With every second precious, Trinny quickly guides me to her long-time makeup artist Johnny Corcoran, with a richly honeyed Irish accent, to re-paint my face.
“We’ve got another sensitive skin gal,” she warns the former dance teacher.
Trinny and her team Down Under.
(Image: Instagram)It’s this attention to detail for an individual’s needs that encapsulates the appeal of Trinny. When I ask her the one product of hers she would recommend to a consumer on a budget, she attests that it “depends entirely who that person is”.
“If it’s somebody who is younger, much younger, I would say get the cleansing duo and make that the foundation of a great relationship with your skin. If you can get yourself into that routine, three months later buy an acid. We launch them a month at a time because we want people to feel: ‘if I bring this element into my skincare routine, I want to feel the difference of this singular individual product’.
“For somebody who has hormonal acne, I would say Overnight Clarity and Find Your Balance. It clears the pores; it treats the condition.
“If you have bad pigmentation, then Vitamin C, but only if you have used Vitamin C before. It’s very strong; it’s 30%.
“And if you feel signs of ageing, but just want one thing that kind of lifts up your whole face – Plump Up.”
“Continual practice and repetition is a very important part of skincare.”
(Image: Trinny London)Having personal experience with perimenopause and the accompanying loss of collagen, Trinny is generous with her tips for ageing skin.
“It’s not always about a ton of moisturisation,” she says. “We should be looking at what you are doing around exfoliation. Even though our skin cell turnover is slower, it’s really important to be dealing with the freshest skin and treating it.”
The biggest skincare mistake according to Trinny? “Some women might feel it’s too late to start having a proper (routine), and it’s never too late.”
Her confidence, just as much as her skincare, is what sells. And the beauty guru is not one to gate-keep the secret.
“Remember the voice inside your head is not you,” she says simply.
And be aggressive with those cheek bones.
Trinny London has now launched retail pop ups in Sydney’s Bondi and Melbourne’s Doncaster.
“They’re doing unbelievably well,” she tells Now To Love. “Better than our central store in London.
“To land somewhere and to have people immediately understand your mission, there is nothing better for a brand and for me, personally.”
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