ATHLEISURE MAG #81 SEP ISSUE | DEMYSTIFYING BEAUTY Trinny Woodall

For the past few months we have shared a cosmetic and skincare brand, Trinny London that looks great on our vanity but also focuses on keeping our skin looking radiant no matter our skin type. We wanted to find out more about the brand and how its founder, Trinny Woodall created the brand and what we have to look forward to from this beauty line.

ATHLEISURE MAG: Before you created your beauty brand, can you tell us a bit about your background as we know you started as a fashion and makeover expert! As a fashion stylist, I have actually seen you on What Not to Wear on BBC.

TRINNY WOODALL: I started my career in media for twenty-years and first established myself as a fashion advisor, initially as a columnist for The Daily Telegraph, and later as a co-host for What Not to Wear and The Trinny and Susannah makeover shows, filmed across 20 countries and viewed by over 30 million women. In 2007, I founded Trinny London on a mission to give everyone the tools they need to feel their best.

AM: What is your approach to style when it comes to dressing others and yourself?

TW: On Sundays, I like to put together outfits for the week ahead, I don’t like to worry about what I’m going to wear. I like to mix patterns and prints and be creative with my looks. Sometimes, I also love matchy matchy! For decades I was led by style rules, but I now follow one mantra for clothes: ‘Does it make me happy?’ If you feel happy in what you’re wearing, you will radiate happiness to those around you and that’s what dressing should be about.

AM: With your success in TV and in fashion, what led you to launching Trinny London?

TW: I was inspired to launch Trinny London after struggling to find a suitable makeup brand or counter in a department store. I saw a gap in the market for stackable,- portable and premium makeup and spent four years perfecting the products, while developing the brand’s signature Match2Me algorithm, an online tool that helps our customers find the right shades for their complexion.

AM: I remember trying out the makeup first and love the concept of how they stack together – who is the Trinny London customer?

TW: Before I launched Trinny London, I felt there were a lot of age 35+ women who were being ignored by the main market. We never use professional models for our marketing campaigns, we like to prioritize realism over aspiration, which is why our brand appeals to older women who feel under-represented in the beauty industry. Our products are suitable for all ages and skin types, but we wanted to ensure the brand was catering towards the 35+ demographic, creating a unique point of difference from other premium brands in the space.

AM: Why did you want to include skincare within this line?

TW: I’ve always been passionate about skincare and spent years suffering from acne. Through my work with thousands of women around the world for over twenty years, I’ve interviewed hundreds of skincare experts, tried thousands of skincare products and spoken to millions of women every week about their skincare dilemmas and aspirations. With skincare, I wanted to provide customers with a clear way of understanding it, so that you can actually diagnose what you should do. My goal is to demystify the world of skincare by dividing it into easy-to-understand chapters so that our consumers fully understand what their skin needs are, which is why we’ve launched one skincare category at a time.

AM: The packing and fun colors that are found in the skincare are really the ultimate in the perfect shelfie or sitting on your vanity - how do you decide what colors should be with what product?

TW: We want to make a skincare routine a fun and enjoyable experience for everyone, which is why we created joyful and colorful packaging that is also sophisticated, so you’ll want to keep it out on your vanity and pick it up every morning and night.

AM: I remember attending a few of your virtual launches and I would always messaging your PR team about new products that I thought would be natural progressions and so far, you have been checking off my list – can you tell us about additional products that will be coming to the line?

TW: As this goes to press, we are launching our most innovative serum called Plump Up and we have done alot of clinical trials on this peptide serum which increases skins firmness and elasticity by 64% and it’s a game-changer in anyones routine and you can layer it by alot of different products! I’m so excited by it! I think I’m most excited by this than anything we’ve ever launched.

AM: What are your 3 favorite go-to products for Trinny London?

TW: I obviously love all of our products, but our BFF Rebalance is really special to me. When I suffered from badly congested skin, it was so difficult to find a product that gave me enough coverage, wasn’t too shiny, and would actually not make my skin worse by wearing it. This product delivers just the right amount of coverage while helping to tackle congested skin. Our Miracle Blur is a continuous bestseller and what we call our little pot of wonder. Not just a miracle by name, the creamy, colorless formula blends effortlessly into the skin for a seamless base to smooth fine lines, pores and acne scars. Another go-to product is our Lip2Cheek. It’s matte and perfect for giving your lips a little stain that will leave you looking gorgeous.

AM: When you're not working on Trinny London, how do you take time for yourself to recharge your batteries?

TW: I either have downtime with my daughter, Lyla and we just go shopping or go we in the car and we play loud music. Sometimes, when I’ve got something on that I’m worried or stressed about I will tidy my cupboards and I find it very therapeutic. When I’m really relaxed and my brain has space, I do the New York Times crossword because it gets challenging each day of the week and I feel that need to challenge my brain so I get stimulated by that and when I’m doing the crossword I know its a point where I’m really relaxed, I’m on holiday or I’m having a day off where I totally tuned out from work.

IG @trinnylondon

@trinnywoodall

PHOTO COURTESY | Trinny Woodall