Trinny Woodall's golden advice for good makeup

You may remember Trinny Woodall from when she was telling us What Not To Wear in the 00s —dominating our TV screens with brutally honest fashion advice and tremendous, figure-flattering transformations.
Fast forward to 2019 and Trinny has turned her eye for flattery to makeup, launching her own range, Trinny London, in the UK in October 2017. Her little pots of easy-to-wear pigments have been causing big waves in beauty, as the finger-friendly makeup flips what we thought we knew about our faces on its head.
In Australia to excitingly launch the online store in AUD, beautyheaven caught up with Trinny to learn about her unique approach beauty and her golden advice for good makeup.
RELATED: This is why Zoë Foster Blake doesn't believe in eye cream
RELATED: K-Beauty 2020: Why the 10-step routine is dead
Trinny tip #1: Do less with bronzer and more with blusher
In terms of makeup overall, Trinny truly does believe that 'less is more'. And one thing she thinks we're all overusing? Bronzer. We are Australian after all...
"I like blusher more than bronzer", she says. "I love how it brings out the colour of an eye, so I always tend to go more towards blusher."
"But people who love bronzer won’t stop using it, so we have a gel that you just put on at the end as opposed to starting your face with it."
@trinnylondon
Trinny tip #2: Adapt your look as you change
When it comes to our makeup habits, Trinny says that often "the decade in which you first discovered makeup is a decade you might stick to for a bit too long."
"It's that time when you need to look up and think 'I could adapt that' or 'maybe I don't need that much coverage because it makes look older' or maybe that black eyeliner I've been doing for ages, which I love, is closing my eyes up."
It's this self awareness that Trinny says can be transformative once you realise it.
Trinny tip #3: Show off your eyes not your eyeliner
Big fans of a thick flick brace yourselves, because Trinny really wants you to stop and put down the liquid liner.
"I don’t particularly like eyeliner, I want to see the eye colour more than I want to see the product", says Trinny. Hence why she created her own 'eyeliner' called Eye Shade, which gives a more natural or smokey finish (in several skin tone-flattering shades), rather than a one-size-fits-all stark black.
@trinnylondon
Trinny tip #4: Feel your skin
A big part of the reason Trinny launched with fingers-only makeup: "I want women to get back a relationship with their skin."
"When we use our fingers, we feel our skin", and as a result can feel what it needs and what it doesn't. "When we use a brush too much, we can sometimes put a lot on, which we don't need."
But she's not strictly 'fingers only', either: "I like to use fingers on a drier skin because I really want to get the oils going", she says. "But on an oilier skin I use a brush to really get it to sit in."
"And then there’s times when you’re out and about and you want to do your lips or eyes, which is much easier to use a brush to blend."
Trinny tip #5: Know how to use your makeup for what you look like
The Trinny London brand was born with a Match2Me concept quite unlike any other.
"I did it because in all the years I made over women, and backstage at shows etc, we would have women and a makeup artist team, and the teams would just put the red lip of the season on anyone", says Trinny. "And it was like, why would you do that?"
"Why would you not look at their skin colour, eye colour and hair colour?" And that's exactly what the Match2Me online tool does.
"We all don’t suit exactly the same things, so I like people to know to use makeup for what they look like, not just for the colour of their eyes."
@trinnylondon
Trinny tip 6: Swap powders for cream
The whole of the Trinny London range is cream, which Trinny says was definitely on purpose.
"It's for ease and to be able to put it on by yourself and not to worry about how it’s going to go", she says. "You know, if you use a powder on your eyes, it’s very difficult to move it around, but with creams you can keep going. "
"It's so much easier to touch up throughout the day too."
@trinnylondon
Trinny tip #7: If you only try one of her products...
"Definitely BFF. Every woman should have this to introduce them to the idea of how we love skin to look."
The Trinny London range is available at trinnylondon.com/au
Do you know of Trinny? Have you tried any Trinny London products?
61 Member Comments
Great tips, especially number 1
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0
I like Blusher too
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0
I have not tried Trinny London products, I do like the look. Great beauty tips as well.
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0
I have to be careful with how much bronzer I use
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0
Not my favourite person but I do like her makeup. This range looks very similar to RMS Beauty, which I'm already familiar with and fond of so its highly unlikely I'll shop this one. Feels really been there, done that.
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0
Yeah blusher is one of the most underrated make-up items for effect I think!
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0
Some great tips and i love using my fingers more than brushes!
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0
Definately cream over powders. There's some really good advice here.
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0
Oh wow i remember her. Some really good tips here.
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0
I'm moving away from black liquid eyeliner more and more. I like crayons which are much softer looking on my eyelid.
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0
Yep I know what you mean Belle!
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 1
I’m really hoping we will be able to purchase Trinnys makeup in stores.
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0
"Trinny tip #5: Know how to use your makeup for what you look like" - I kind of wish I was able to see myself well enough to do that. I can barely match my foundation shade, let alone know exactly what I look like and how to make my makeup work for that.
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0
So many great pieces of advice, I follow a lot of these myself.
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0
I'm always careful with bronzers as they are always so dark on my fair skin
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0
Great rules! I am a big fan of my kohl pencil. I agree that the liquid liner can be too ‘done’ sometimes and you want to see the face rather than just the makeup. I like to keep it simple. Even base, a little liner on my waterline, some gloss and a hint of colour. I like a bit dewy and fresh
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0
I have a the just a touch and a blush. I’m keen to try the BFF next.
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0
Love eyeliners too
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0
I love eyeliner, some of her tips make sense but others I suppose each to their own.
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0
I draw eyeliner with an angled brush dipped in dark matte eye shadow. People ask me if I'm sick if I don't have eye liner on. ..
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0
Well here I sit with my blue eyeliner on today. When i was younger I used to use black eyeliner but it looks too harsh on me now. I think I will use eyeliner until the day a depart this earth. No matter what I always do my eyes.
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0
Her eye shades sound interesting, I wonder if this line will feature in rewards room
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 1
Enhancing natural features and less is more, she’s talking my language. I’ve never managed to get the winged eyeliner to work for me, so I’m glad I’m not alone here.
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0
I love this lady with her sensible ideas and advice, and look forward to trying her products one day.
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0
I just realised who she was! She's that lady that I used to watch on tele - she had a fashion makeover tv show!
- Log in or register to commentReply to comment
- Likes 0