by Sarah Cross
--What does the promo say?—
“Say farewell to overwhelming make-up palettes and hello to a personalised stack.”
BFF SPF 30 CREAM SKIN PERFECTOR £35
“The perfect base product; we set out to create one ultimate skin perfector and so BFF SPF 30 Cream was born.”
EYE2EYE EYE SHADE £18
“A range of moisture-enriched cream-based eye shades and liners, Eye2Eye is the ultimate eye enhancer.”
Lip2Cheek £25
“A multi-tasking lip and cheek hero that makes your entire complexion come alive.”
Sheer Shimmer £22
“A real glow-getter, Sheer Shimmer is our little pot of temptation that adds dewy glow and iridescence to anything it touches.”
--Process—
Having seen a video on Facebook for a 5-minute make-up routine using TRINNY make-up, I decided to go onto the website to see what I could find using the “Match2Me” procedure. I confess that this is what attracted me the most to TRINNY products - the personal nature of them - and I was not disappointed. I have never seen a make-up company where the products are so beautifully ‘tailored’ to fitso many different types of skin colour. Quite incredible.
Once on the website, you select your eye colour, hair colour and complexion from a range of colour photos and descriptions. The website then keeps your profile in order to recommend the colour tones in all the different product ranges. When searching through to purchase, the website automatically shows the colours ideally suited to you. The website retains this information for whenever you visit it. (You can also have this profile sent to your email address so that you can keep it for future reference.)
The profile selection is quite detailed with descriptions about how your skin tans in the sun and there are varying shades for hair colour. For example: for ‘blonde’, you choose from ‘dirty blonde’, ‘dirty cool blonde’, ‘dirty warm blonde’.
Once you have completed your beauty profile, there are various Stacks to choose from: Softly Smokey, Fresh Face, Statement Lip, Smoky Eye, Starter Stack, Holiday Glow, 5 Min Makeover and Skin First. I chose the 5 Min Makeover, which included a tube of BFF SPF30 Skin perfector cream (Trinny provide an additional pot free so that you can include this in your ‘stack’ should you so wish) and the following stacking pots: Just a Touch foundation concealer, Eye2Eye eye shade, Lip2Cheek blusher/lip colour and Sheer shimmer Lip to Cheek pot of shimmer highlighter.
If you cannot find what you want in one of the proposed ready-made stacks, the profile also gives you the opportunity to shop via the LookBook: a series of photos and ‘looks’ showing models similar to you, for even more inspiration!
--Packaging--
TRINNY products come in a lovely sealable silver bag with the TRINNY logo. This bag is perfect to take away on holiday with you and encourages you to go ‘minimalist’ when travelling. My stack and face cream easily fit into it alongside my mascara and eyebrow brush. Inside the bag you will find silver boxes containing all your chosen products in neat transparent pots with silver lids. Once opened, you can clip your pots together in a stack. A detailed list of your products and what they are is provide with your order, which is extremely useful for remembering which is which, until you have committed it to memory. Made in Italy, the overall result is minimalist, stylish and very good quality.
However, the pots can be tricky to unscrew if you have greasy fingers from, say, applying moisturiser.
--Application--
Although the pots seem quite small, a little really does go a long way. Application is easy with a fingertip and works well for blending but, if you have long nails, you will eventually need to invest in a T-kit brush to get inside your pot. (In fact, I’m thinking of getting one anyway as it prevents contamination of the product and I don’t want it wasted in my nails.) Similarly, I have quite thin lips and so I find it hard to apply the cream to my lips with great accuracy as I am used to lipsticks and brushes. T-kit brush definitely on the cards for this reason too! First I apply BFF SPF30 skin protector. Again, you only need a tiny amount for each side of your face and you can blend this in all over. I then apply Trintron concealer.
--Appearance—
--Scent—
The products do not have a strong scent at all, which is a bonus. The BFF cream is delicately perfumed and very pleasant. Similar French products - where the cream adapts to your skin tone - have a strong and slightly pungent, unpleasant smell, so Trinny wins hands down on this score.
--Texture and consistency—
The products are superbly creamy and are easily applied. They are extremely blendable and buildable. You can have a light, almost make-up free look for daytime, or a more accentuated look for evening. Just apply as much or as little as you wish. However, the Lip2Cheek is a little dry for those with already dry lips, especially for those users who are already normally used to using extremely moisturising and hydrating lipsticks.
--Effects on the skin—
This makeup helps to create a natural look and provides good coverage just where you need it. You can use it to conceal blemishes or dark shadows, and the concealer can also be used as an eye primer before applying shadow. The multiple shades give options for different looks and enable you to add as much or as little colour as suits the mood or time of day. All the products leave your skin looking moisturised, fresh and slightly shimmery. They are light, so your skin feels as though it can breathe. No clogged pores. And all of this can be achieved in 5 minutes.
--Value for money--
The products may seem expensive when you splash out on your first stack but since they last for ages and are of a high quality, they are well worth it. Future expenditure can easily be staggered as you gradually increase your stacks. I will almost certainly be adding to mine. I love the concept and it will be great for travelling. Oh to travel again!!
--Additional Information—
Hats off to Trinny for setting up a website so that people like me, living in Europe, can still buy our favourite products without the addition of extortionate customs duties. Even when ordering from abroad, if you order enough (and my 5-Min makeover fitted into this category) delivery is also entirely free! In the dark days after Brexit, this came as a breath of fresh air and was a very pleasant surprise indeed. The company’s website has loads of useful video tutorials and their customer service (e.g. via email) is fast, friendly, helpful and efficient.
You can even book your own personalised make-up appointment (£25 for 30 minutes, redeemable against product, via Zoom).
perfect partners
BFF Eye serum concealer £26
BFF De-Stress Tinted serum £39
Miracle Blur £26
T-Kit 3-in-1 Brush set £28
The Jubilee Small Travel Bag £24
