Trinny Woodall: Feeling Better Than Ever in Her Sixties

Trinny Woodhall is in her early sixties, and she revealed it to be a rather transformative time in her life. She is now focusing on 'really knowing what she wants now’ rather than worrying about 'what people think' about her, the fashion guru added that: "I think we can spend [our] 20s and 30s worrying what people think." A message a lot of people can relate to. She says 'Age is irrelevant', a sentiment echoed by Si Richard Branson when interviewed by 55/Redefined Founder and CEO, Lyndsey Simpson.

It’s inspiring to hear that kind of mantra from someone like Trinny, whose thriving beauty brand and influential fashion advice continue to resonate across the country. After all, no-one could argue that her career hasn’t been illustrious. Having began her professional journey in the financial sector before venturing into fashion journalism, in 1996 she collaborated with Susannah Constantine to write a weekly style column titled "Ready to Wear" for The Daily Telegraph. The column focused on affordable fashion and practical style advice, running for seven years and laying the foundation for their future television success – they launched the BBC television series What Not to Wear in 2001, offering makeovers and fashion guidance to guests. Their direct approach to fashion advice resonated with audiences, and they even co-authored several best-selling books, including What Not to Wear and The Body Shape Bible.

Not one to rest on her laurels, Trinny went on to found Trinny London in 2017, a beauty brand emphasizing personalised makeup solutions, utilising tools like Match2Me to tailor products to individual skin tones and preferences. And boy was she successful - selling her house to fund her first store in London, to a global online phenomenon - worth £200 million today, with annual sales of £56m, focusing on inclusivity and catering to often underrepresented demographics, including a more mature audience.

Surprisingly, it’s not until more recently, however, that she’s felt truly comfortable in her skin and has been listed in the Times Beauty Rich List for this year.

“I had acne, and felt really ugly for many years,” she told the Daily Mirror. “I hated dating. After I got rid of it I had a new confidence.” And this is a confidence that continues today - “now, at 60, I can go into a room and go up to a smaller group of people, introduce myself and make my own group. At 40 I might have been too shy to do that,” she said in an interview with VIP Magazine - but it still takes some effort. “Everyone’s entitled to how they want to age – some people might say, ‘Trinny, why do you keep dyeing your hair? You should go grey naturally’. Not in a million years! I have s***** coloured grey hair, I’m not going to do that. I don’t love grey hair on me,” she joked in an interview with The Independent. “I found 50 to be quite a freeing decade, and I find 60 to be an even more freeing decade.”

Refreshingly, with Trinny London, the beauty connoisseur refuses to use the word ‘anti-ageing’. Instead, it’s about what suits our skin as we get older. That said, she has been open about the fact that she has Botox twice a year, and also adheres to a strict skincare routine. “I’ve actually never gone to bed without taking my make-up off,” she added. “From my 20s, I’ve always had a routine which is sort of three or four steps. As much as I do Botox, you know, I’ve had CO2 laser for my acne scarring, the consistency of my skin is down to ingredients I continually put on my face every day.”

Today her focus on skincare is all about healing, enhancing her skin and looking after it, not changing it completely, yet she also credits her diet to help keeping her youthful looks in situ, doing her best to eliminate sugar wherever possible. “I just think it’s worse than smoking,” she added. “Things do change when you’re 60, you know what’s going to cause inflammation in your body and you need to avoid it because inflammation leads to many things that are not that pleasant. So the more I can keep my body in an alkaline state, the better.” She is also into guided meditation as a way to reset internally, adding that: “Feeling old is about what’s going on inside your head... Rather than worrying, ask yourself how you can shift gear.”

Beauty, brains, a successful career and always on hand to help others - is it any surprise her 4 million-plus social media followers, many of whom are post-50 women at an age when often they feel invisible – love her so fearlessly?

Main Image: ©LANDMARK MEDIA / Alamy Stock Photo