What I Put On My Face is Mamamia’s celebrity beauty series that goes inside the beauty cabinets of some of Australia’s most influential people. From what skincare products they use to their go-to makeup tips, it’s a pervy look at exactly what they put on their face. And body. And hair. You get the idea.

This week, we speak to Trinny Woodall. Many of us would’ve spent hours watching the iconic British duo Trinny and Susannah give out the realest fashion advice on telly with their noughties TV show ‘What Not To Wear’. Aside from being the original fashion makeover queen, the 55-year-old is also big in the beauty world with her makeup brand TRINNY LONDON. Trinny shares her extensive (and expensive) skincare routine and her philosophies on what makes women feel good about themselves.Enjoy!

To listen to Trinny’s interview with Mia Freedman on the No Filter podcast, get it in your ears below. Post continues after audio.

Trinny Woodall’s skincare routine.

The 80s wasn’t my best decade. It was my fake tan era. I had a lot of terrible acne from the ages of 13-30 and then I used fake tan to cover it up. It was like a pizza face, it was terrible. I made so many beauty mistakes but I had an enlightening moment when I was a teenager. My mother is Scottish and the most she’s ever put on her face is a bit of water, but I went to stay with my godmother in New York and she took me to a department store and Clinque had just launched their three-step routine.

At that point, I had nothing for my skin. My mother only ever gave me Nivea cream for everything. That day was my intro to knowing there is another way. It was so exciting. And every decade, there’s been more products, more choice, more difficulty to work out what suits you and it’s about refinement of choice for me. My skin now has got such an unbelievable resilience to anything. My skin can take anything and I feel that my skincare routine is layers and layers of active ingredients. I have a rule that I will try something for a month or two before I talk about it. A lot of my Secret Sevens [Instagram beauty series] are my favourite products.

To me, there are three main ingredients for skin – retinol, Vitamin C and SPF. If a woman is looking at what money she has to spend on skincare, I think spend the least amount of money on your cleanser, but make sure it’s one that really cleans your skin. I believe in cleansing your skin twice at night. Another big rule which I had to learn is: toner is not the end of your cleansing routine, it’s the beginning of your serum routine. It’s prepping your skin to receive products, resetting the pH balance so whatever you put on next will really penetrate.

It’s like looking at a history of my life looking my skincare. Jan Marini was my introduction to a stabalised form of Vitamin C, it’s a serum that felt milky so it didn’t oxidise and it’s great for sensitive skin. It gave you that glow without being scary, so it’s definitely in my hall of fame. Then you’ve got, on the opposite end, the most disruptive, not great for sensitive skin Vitamin C – the DCL Night Booster. It’s 30 per cent L-Ascorbic Acid and it’s really going to get you that glow. It’s a really strong overnight treatment so don’t do it with retinol. Allies of Skin also have a 35 per cent Vitamin C and Ferulic Acid in it. My favourite economy buy for Vitamin C products is Timeless CE Ferulic, a dupe for the $200 SkinCeuticals one. If you’re wanting an economy retinol, I would say spend more on the serum but buy a $30 titanium microneedling tool so the retinol can really penetrate.

I am also religious with sun care but I was a sun bunny in my twenties. I remember there was a very hot day in 1979 at boarding school and I lay out on tin foil like a chicken, I put olive oil on my body. That’s how addicted I was. My twenties was me killing my skin in one way or another. Only in my mid-thirties did I realise before it’s too late, I have to do SPF. In the summer, I do SPF 50 and SPF 30 in winter.

Her favourite products.

GOLDFADEN MD Doctor’s Scrub Advanced, $150.

Image: Mecca.

SkinCeuticals by C E Ferulic, $200.

Image: Adore Beauty.

Timeless Skin Care 20% Vitamin C + E Ferulic Acid Serum, $81.94.

Image: Net-a-porter.

Jan Marini C-Esta Serum, $148.

Image: Net-a-porter.

Allies of Skin Vitamin C 35% Collagen Rebuilding Serum, $196.