Within five minutes of arriving at Trinny Woodall’s glossy London HQ I’m in the middle of a makeover. Well make-under to be precise.
My foundation is off – removed by the woman herself – and she’s demonstrating how to apply eyeshadow differently (“lift and swipe to stop your eyelids looking droopy”) and showing me how to take the perfect selfie.
Trinny is a whirlwind as I quickly discover when we spend an afternoon putting the world to rights about beauty, make-up, fashion, social media, the environment, empowerment and a whole of other stuff in-between.
In real life she’s as upfront and honest as she was in her What Not To Wear days in the early noughties alongside partner-in-crime Susannah Constantine. The duo became famous for their refreshingly forthright approach as they doled out style advice and makeovers up and down the country.
On the show, Trinny had a gift for getting inside women’s heads, helping them believe that armed with the right outfit, they could take on the world and win.
Fast forward nearly 20 years and it’s clear one of Trinny’s biggest gifts is this natural ability to sum people up in seconds and see the bigger picture. She genuinely wants to reach out and help people – in fact, she can’t stop herself.
This is party because she knows how powerful change can be in her own life. “Sometimes it was external things, like getting rid of acne. I felt really ugly for many years. I hated dating. I would decide on the restaurant beforehand and if it had over-head lighting I wouldn’t go.”
“When I got rid of it I had a new confidence. I felt that change in myself. So when I did makeovers later in my career, I could see how much the women shifted. I like seeing that shift.”
So it’s no surprise that the makeover queen has now turned her attention to the transformative power of make-up with her innovative stackable cosmetics range TrinnyLondon.com
It has been a labour of love from the start. After raising £150,000 from investors, she ran out of money during the research and development phase. Her solution? To sell 80 per cent of wardrobe.
“This raised £80,000, which enabled me to work for another year. At every stage I thought: ‘I can’t give up now’.
And her hard work paid off as the brand’s sales are up 500 per cent in the past year and she now has 50 people working for her.
When it comes to make-up less, Trinny says, is definitely more.
She recalls seeing Kylie Jenner in a restaurant in Portofino while on holiday in the summer with her partner Charles Saatchi (the one subject that is off the table for discussion).
“I was going over to say hi to get a picture for my daughter who watches their reality TV show. I was on a mission for my child but part of me thought ‘I really shouldn’t be doing this. She was sitting in this beautiful restaurant wearing so much make-up. In the most glorious hot weather. And she just didn’t need it.”
“I’ve just started this new guerrilla thing where my team and I go up to people in the street and re-do their make-up. What we’re really doing is “make-unders”, showing women that less is more. Women tend to use foundation as armour. I want to give women the opportunity to see something different that will empower them.”
Trinny is still just as opinionated about fashion as ever and admits to being something of a control freak about her own look.
“I think some stylists over the years may have had some not very nice things to say about me,” she laughs.
“The hardest thing for me is when I go on a shoot, and someone thinks they know how to dress me. I can’t get let go of what I know really works. So yes I guess you could say yes I CAN BE very controlling.”
But she is also more than happy to laugh at her own style mistakes. Yes she regrets the too-short short skirts, the orange fake tan and the poker-straight ironed hair of her younger years. She hates “mom jeans” and thinks kitten heels should be banned. When I tell her I have several pairs in my wardrobe, she assesses my ankles and tells me I’m still allowed to wear them.
As I said before, she can’t help herself when it comes to giving style advice – something she has built a reputation with a new generation of fashion fans on social media.
With half a million followers on Instagram and the “Trinny Tribe” – 12,000 women she interacts with on Facebook, she has embraced social media with gusto.
Trinny gives her followers daily fashion and make-up tutorials via video.
“I can talk for as long as people are prepared to listen,” she laughs.
Throughout our chat, Trinny has been busy directing her make-up artist to re-do my make-up. The end result is fantastic, she really has knocked years off me. I’m actually quite taken aback when I look in the mirror.
I ask her how she feels about getting older, saying a lot of my friends say they now feel invisible. Trinny tackles this subject in her typical no-nonsense style.
“Feeling old is about what’s inside your head. The majority of what we worry about doesn’t happen. If one week you suddenly don’t feel good in something, or no longer feel attractive, it’s about what’s going on in your head. The truth is, nothing has changed outwardly in seven days. Rather than worrying, ask yourself how you can shift gear. I use guided meditation. It’s about resetting ourselves internally.”
For Trinny it’s all about building confidence rather than trying to look younger.
“Walking into a room with a real presence is something I think we should all be able to do that until we die. So what do we need to do to get that? Well, clothes are a good start. Before you can open your mouth and say the things that might have everyone hanging onto your every word, you need to get their attention. So it’s about that moment, that first impression. And finding your style allows you to do that. Finding something that’s eternally chic or makes you stand out. It’s got to be one or the other.”
And obviously make-up has a huge part to play in this.
“Make-up that looks timeless and fresh and doesn’t age you in any way or attach you to a decade or a trend is also essential. The first thing I notice when I meet a women is how they do their make-up. And it’s generally women who use more rather than less.”
“There is a certain type of women who got her confidence in a particular decade, and has stuck with it. That tells you a lot about a person. What I hope I can give women, and I believe my make up allows them to do, is to discover a new, modern, updated version of themselves.”
And with that, she’s done. And with my new fresh face I’ve got to confess I feel like I can take on the world.