What’s it like to follow Trinny’s bizarre £10,000 beauty regime?
HELENA FRITH POWELL dared try it for a month – vampire facials and all
Have you wondered what it would be like to have all the money and time in the world to spend making yourself look younger?
That’s the life former TV presenter Trinny Woodall, who’s dating advertising guru Charles Saatchi, appears to enjoy.
Now a blogger sharing ‘random musings about fashion, beauty and wardrobe secrets gleaned from 20 years making over women’, her social media feeds are littered with posts boasting of the outlandish and super-expensive treatments she has in order to look as young as possible.
A conservative estimate puts the 52-year-old’s regime at an incredible £10,000 a year.
The treatments certainly seem to work for Trinny — but it got me wondering if they could also work for me, a harassed 49-year-old mother of three.
I decided to find out by spending four weeks having everything Trinny has, including Botox, a terrifying Vampire Facial, threading, pill popping and a whole lot more.
So, was it all worth it?
THE BASICS
A £169 FLANNEL
Foreo Luna Silicone Cleansing Brush, £169, foreo.com
Trinny swears by this bizarre-looking silicone circle which, believe it or not, is designed to replace your flannel.
At the push of a button, the whole thing starts to vibrate alarmingly. To use, you simply wet your face, put a blob of soap on, then run the device over your skin. On one side there are hundreds of silicone dimples, which effectively lift off make-up and grime. The makers claim it’s far more hygienic and effective than a flannel.
The other side of the circle has ridges on. According to the blurb, this is the side you use with the ‘anti-ageing mode’ that ‘delivers lower-frequency pulsations which, when applied to wrinkle-prone areas, reduces the visibility of fine lines and wrinkles.’
I love it. My skin looks translucent and sparklingly clean, and I can tell my creams are sinking in and plumping my skin. It’s wildly expensive but definitely a keeper.
EFFICACY: 4/5
VALUE FOR MONEY: 4/5
MIRACLE CREAM
Sisley Black Rose Cream, £95.50, johnlewis.com
This is not cheap — but as Trinny says: ‘Sometimes you need to fork out to get the best result.’
It is a truly miraculous product. It doesn’t matter how drab your skin looks, pop this on and you look almost instantly refreshed.
You don’t even need to use that much, so the tube lasts an age. The secret? Rose and gooseberry extracts, which are fantastically anti-ageing.
EFFICACY: 4/5
VALUE FOR MONEY: 3/5
TWO-IN-ONE SCRUB
Rudolph Facial Scrub Mask, £35.59, rudolphcare.dk/en
It’s a surprise Trinny uses anything natural, but this organic mask is as puritanical as you can get. This Danish brand uses granules made from acai berries and apricots to cleanse and exfoliate skin.
It is also a mask, so the idea is you rub it into damp skin first and then you leave it on for ten minutes to give the organic oils time to nourish the skin. It is quite an earthy, unperfumed product.
Results are good. My skin looked thoroughly rejuvenated — smoother and fresher.
EFFICACY: 4/5
VALUE FOR MONEY: 3/5
THE CLOWN LIP MASK
Gosh, this cherry lip gel patch is strange (£4.30, amazon.co.uk).
Trinny says she inherited many good things from her mother — ‘but I also inherited my prune-like mouth’.
To combat this, she uses a Korean lip sticker. It is a pleasant-smelling, jelly-like patch in the shape of oversized lips. You peel off the backing paper and stick the whole thing over your mouth for ten silent minutes.
Cherry extracts plump the lips while you lie there looking like a clown. I liked the feel of it but I wouldn’t say the results were dramatic. My lips look slightly plumper and with a pinkish tinge, but no more than the effect of a very good lipgloss.
EFFICACY: 1/5
VALUE FOR MONEY: 2/5
THE FACE TREATMENTS
FULL-FACE THREAD
minxbeauty.com, £51
Threading is a process by which hairs are removed by trapping them between two twisted pieces of thread and pulling them out.
Many people use the technique to shape their eyebrows — but I’d never considered having my entire face threaded, as Trinny does. And, let’s face it, the sad fact is that as we age, hair sprouts in the most unseemly places. I didn’t even think about the fact that parts of my face were covered in a light down — until it was gone. I can’t pretend the treatment was painless (think of the agony of leg waxing and then quadruple it), but the difference is incredible. My face looks more defined, my skin clearer and make-up glides on with ease. I’ll most definitely keep going with the threading. It’s a revelation.
EFFICACY: 5/5
VALUE FOR MONEY: 4/5
VAMPIRE FACIAL
lcas.com, £950
The vampire facial involves blood and needles, which are two of my least favourite things.
But Trinny swears it’s one of the most effective anti-ageing tools out there. ‘This is probably the best way to make your face look younger, healthier, with fewer lines, and fuller,’ she enthuses. A nurse takes a small syringe of blood from my arm from which the platelet-rich plasma is going to be extracted.
This is the substance naturally produced by the body to help the healing process when you cut yourself and it is known in the industry as ‘liquid gold’ because of its ability to rejuvenate skin.
My face is then covered in a topical anaesthetic so when the plasma is injected back into me at ten different sites on my face, it hurts less.
Dr Veil, of the London Centre for Aesthetic Surgery, recommends three vampire facials over a period of three months, and then one a year as a top-up.
Afterwards, I look like a tomato and I feel like my face is pressed up against a hot fire. But in the next two days, my skin starts to flake off, revealing younger skin underneath.
Five days later it appears incredibly clear and plump. I look a decade younger. Despite the pain, it’s something I’d definitely do again.
EFFICACY: 5/5
VALUE FOR MONEY: 2/5
£250 FACE-FREEZING JABS
Trinny has admitted to having injections of Botox (lcas.com) twice a year since she was 37.
Luckily, it’s a quick and fairly painless process: I was in and out of the clinic in ten minutes.
You smile and frown so the dermatologist can see which muscles need to be targeted, then they inject.
For the rest of the day you need to avoid doing anything that might move the Botox to somewhere you don’t want it. It takes around three days to work — but once it does you will be utterly hooked.
It’s the single most dramatic and effective anti-ageing treatment there is. I can see why Trinny’s such an addict.
EFFICACY: 5/5
VALUE FOR MONEY: 5/5
FUTURISTIC LASERS
Clearlift, from £150, michaeljohn.co.uk
Trinny is right about lasers — they really are the future of anti-ageing. The £150 Clearlift facial I had uses laser technology to trick the body into thinking that the skin has been wounded — so kicking off a healing process. This stimulates growth of new cells and collagen.
You simply lie back and they zap your face. It feels a little warm but is otherwise pain-free.
The results were immediate. My skin looked plumper and smoother, with no redness or discomfort at all. And as with all collagen stimulating treatments, this is just the beginning as they continue to work for weeks after the actual facial.
EFFICACY: 4/5
VALUE FOR MONEY: 4/5
REJUVINATING ACID PEEL
£110, Medispa Belgravia
Although acid peels have a bad reputation for leaving skin red-raw, the newest ones are quick, painless, cheaper than lasers and give incredible results. I can see why Trinny is such a fan.
‘Women get addicted to peels,’ says my therapist, as she wipes an alcohol-soaked swab over my face to prep my skin for a three-minute Mandelic Acid peel. The maximum is eight minutes — but only if you ‘are a smoker or have leathery skin’.
There is a slight tingling during and immediately afterwards, which is alleviated by a nourishing post-peel mask.
After three days my skin starts peeling off — not in a horrendously dramatic way, but small flakes on the surface of it. This process lasts no more than two days, so just avoid any special events between days three and five post-peel. Afterwards my skin is glowing with a glossiness that looks healthy but a little shiny.
EFFICACY: 5/5
VALUE FOR MONEY: 5/5
LITTLE EXTRAS
YOUTHFUL DECOLLETAGE
ellipseuk.com, £250
It’s all very well looking after your face, but there are three areas that can give away our age like no other — the hands, decolletage and neck.
I tried the Ellipse VL treatment, which uses lasers to boost collagen production, stimulate new cells, soften wrinkles and improve skin tone. The downside is that pigmentation goes darker initially and may even scab over.
But without doubt I saw results, especially on my hands, which, ten days after one treatment, were utterly transformed.
EFFICACY: 4/5
VALUE FOR MONEY: 3/5
EXPENSIVE HIGHLIGHTS
michaeljohn.co.uk, £160
Trinny has a highlighting technique known as ‘balayage’, in which the hairdresser paints, freehand, lighter dye onto hair rather than using foils. The idea is that it blends in greys and gives a sunkissed, youthful look.
The hairdresser I saw suggested we lighten everything up a tone or two and add some highlights around my face.
My hair now looks livelier and less dowdy. And when the grey hairs do start to come through between root treatments, they will be a lot less obvious.
EFFICACY: 5/5
VALUE FOR MONEY: 3/5
THE PILLS
THE HAIR BOOSTER
philipkingsley.co.uk, £45
I took a food supplement designed to maintain healthy hair that contains a mix of vitamins and minerals to help combat greys and boost hair and nail health.
I have definitely noticed an improvement in nail strength, but I can’t say it’s done much for my white hairs — although you’re supposed to use it for three months, so it may be that one month isn’t long enough to see the full effects.
EFFICACY: 4/5
VALUE FOR MONEY: 3/5
MEGA-DOSES VITAMIN C
Available nationwide, £9.99
Trinny takes 6,000mg of vitamin C a day — despite the fact that the daily recommended dose is 65-90mg. She says she takes it to counter the effects of smoking and sugar, which both destroy vitamin C.
It certainly did feel like I had more energy, and according to the experts I spoke to it’s great for the immune system.
I’ll certainly keep going with the mega-doses, but I might reduce it a tad because one side-effect is that it does have a rather dramatic effect on one’s digestive system, causing stomach upsets.
EFFICACY: 5/5
VALUE FOR MONEY: 5/5
TOTAL COST OVER A YEAR: £10,422.50
CONCLUSION: There is no doubt that my skin is a lot better than it was when I started.
It’s clearer, fine lines are less visible — and the larger ones where the Botox has taken effect have more or less vanished.
My age spots, too, are lighter than they were.
I think the major lesson from my month living like Trinny has been two-fold.
First, if you have unlimited funds (and time), you can dramatically affect the ageing process.
Second, I definitely need to take more time and care over my skin, even if that just means regular home care such as peels, exfoliation and twice daily cleansing.
If you don’t look after your skin on a daily basis, an expensive treatment every now and again won’t really help.
My advice is to invest in some good Botox — and focus more on your homecare routine.
Helena Frith Powell was born in Sweden to a Swedish mother and Italian father, but grew up mainly in England. She is the author of eleven books, translated into several languages including Chinese and Russian. She wrote the French Mistress column The Sunday Times about life in France for several years. She is a regular contributor to the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, The Times, Daily Telegraph, Tatler Magazine and Harper’s Bazaar.
Helena has been the editor of four magazines, including M Magazine, a supplement for the Abu Dhabi-based National Newspaper and FIVE, a high-end fashion glossy, also published in Abu Dhabi. Helena was also editor-in-chief of 360 Life, a quarterly glossy magazine published with the Sports 360 Newspaper in Dubai, part of the Chalhoub Group.
Helena contributes regularly to UK-based newspapers and magazines and holds a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Cambridge. She is working on a thriller set in Sweden as well as a novel about the relationship between Virginia Woolf and Katherine Mansfield called Sense of an Echo.
In 2022 her short story The Japanese Gardener came second in the Fish Publishing Short Story Prize. One of her stories was also shortlisted for the Bridport Short Story Prize. When she’s not writing, she works as a headhunter for the media and entertainment industry for the Sucherman Group.
Helena, who was educated at Durham University, lives in the Languedoc region of France with her husband Rupert and their three children.
Bibliography
More France Please, we’re British; Gibson Square 2004
Two Lipsticks and a Lover 2005; Gibson Square (hardback)
All You Need to be Impossibly French; (US version of above) Penguin 2006
Two Lipsticks and a Lover; Arrow Books (paperback) 2007
Ciao Bella Gibson Square; (hardback) 2006
Ciao Bella Gibson Square; (paperback) 2007
So Chic! (French version of Two Lipsticks) Leduc Editions 2008 (also translated into Chinese, Russian and Thai)
More, More France; Gibson Square 2009
To Hell in High Heels; Arrow Books 2009 (also translated into Polish)
The Viva Mayr Diet; Harper Collins 2009
Love in a Warm Climate; Gibson Square 2011
The Ex-Factor; Gibson Square 2013
Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles; Gibson Square 2016
The Arnolfini Marriage; Amazon Kindle December 2016
Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles (paperback); Gibson Square spring 2018
The Longest Night; Gibson Square spring 2019