Over 40 Trinny London Skincare Review

Many of you have reached out asking if I had tried Trinny London skincare. I haven't, and I have been dealing with some skincare issues and not in a place to try new products right now. When Trinny London offered to send me some of its skincare, I offered the opportunity to over 40 Wardrobe Oxygen community member Debra Neff Nathans. This is her honest Trinny London skincare review.

Over 40 Trinny London Skincare Review

I look forward to my skincare time in the evenings, when I’m finally done rushing around and can focus on myself and apply my creams and oils and lotions and potions, patting them onto and into my skin. I’m doing something for myself. I love skincare.

Skincare does not love me back. I have sensitive skin and rosacea, and I have to be careful with ingredients or I get a burning sensation  or worse, these painful little red bumps. 

As a fan of skincare, I’ll be the first person to tell you that skincare can only do so much. The right skincare can help your skin feel good in the same way that vegetables can help your body feel good, but neither skincare nor vegetables function as a time machine. At my age (mid-50’s) If I really want to see a dramatic change in my skin, I need to visit the dermatologist or plastic surgeon for some advanced work – fillers or even a facelift. But I’m realizing more and more that what I love most about skincare and makeup is the ritual, as much as, if not more than, the results. 

Trinny London is the makeup and skincare line by stylist Trinny Woodall, best known for the British version of What Not To Wear, which predated and inspired the American show of the same name. I was excited to try the Trinny London line. I was asked to select three products from a curated list. I picked the BFF De-stress Serum, the Plump Up Serum, and the Bounce Back Intense Peptide Moisturizer.

I selected Bounce Back because I had been looking for a lighter-weight moisturizer to wear at night, after I double-cleanse and apply either my prescription Azelaic acid treatment or a very mild retinoid. I had been using a thick cream over all of that, and it just wasn’t absorbed in any kind of reasonable time frame.

I would try to stay awake until my moisturizer absorbed, but inevitably I would fall asleep and my greasy cheek would stick to my pillow from the occlusive cream, and then I would wake up with a film of sebum and product sitting on my skin. It wasn’t tragic; everything was washable and my skin did feel soft. But I thought it would be nice to try something lighter at night. 

I absolutely love the packaging on these Trinny London skincare products. The moisturizer sits in a plastic tube, and when you twist the bottom of the tube, a little pump pops out of the top. It’s  unique and fun. The Trinny London website recommends how many pumps to use for each product, and the packaging makes it easy to measure. It is also more hygienic to use a pump to distribute the product, and the pump helps preserve some of the more unstable ingredients such as certain peptides.

The ingredient list is impressive too. According to the Trinny London website, Bounce Back contains peptides, a fermented ingredient to help support good bacteria on the skin, and a cocktail of soothing ingredients that add hydration and support the skin barrier. As a person who tries a lot of skincare, I can tell you that this product is pleasant to use. It’s lightweight, absorbs quickly, and smells good. 

But that turned out to be my issue with it. My skin doesn’t like things that smell good, and within my second day of using Bounce Back, I had some problems. I thought about continuing for the sake of research, but then I decided I’m not going to be able to show you a positive before and after image if my skin is even redder and angrier than it normally is.

And that’s the sad story with Bounce Back, because despite the fact that I liked it, I had to stop using it. Your milage, however, may vary.

It’s $70 for a full size Bounce Back. Refills and mini sizes are also available, including a super-cute stackable version, which is compatible with other products from the line. You can get your whole skincare routine from Trinny in these adorable mini-sizes that stack together. If I could only use this product, I’d be in love. 

I also selected the BFF De-stress Serum, which I had heard about on TikTok. It’s a skin tint, which is essentially a hybrid of skincare and foundation that usually provides light, natural-looking coverage. I am a big fan of the whole skin tint genre, and I have tried many skin tints looking for a product that would make my fair, rosacea-red skin look perfect yet would also make me look like I’m not wearing makeup. 

Using the color descriptions on their website, I selected the shade Jemima, which is described as “Neutral Vanilla for Fair Skin.” It’s a bit too yellow for my skin tone. I have a cool-neutral undertone and I usually wear the lightest or second-lightest shade in most foundations. There are only 12 shades in the product line, which isn’t a great shade range. Some sheerer tints can get away with a smaller shade selection because a single shade will match a wider range of skin tones. But this shade, Jemima, was not a great match for me. 

The hero ingredient in the BFF De-stress Serum is NP-TriOX™ technology which is meant to manage the effects of stress on the skin. I have no idea what that means, but it has a light, dewy finish. The product instructions recommend applying with fingers or a brush; I prefer a brush. I dot the product all over my face, applying the most dots where I need the most coverage, and then buff it into my face using a flat-topped foundation brush and a gentle stippling motion.

The BFF De-stress Serum evened out my skin tone, covered the redness, and left a nice glow. I did apply a loose setting powder over it because my face felt damp after the product should have had time to dry down, but that might be a function of my combination skin type or the massive amounts of Korean sunscreen I wear under everything. 

The skin tint looked nice once I’d applied a minimal face of makeup, and it lasted well over a busy work day. It had not done any of the bad things foundations and skin tints have been known to do to my face over a day thanks to my skin issues, like oxidize bright orange; wear off in streaks; sink into my pores, leaving behind a ruddy patch covered with tiny foundation dots where my pores are; or separate and flake around my nose. A lot of foundations and skin tints do one or all of those things. BFF De-stress Serum didn’t do any of them. 

It does have a light fragrance, I didn’t react to the fragrance, but I worry that I would react if I used it every day. Also, the shade wasn’t great on me. And even though the color looked fine once I’d applied a full face of makeup, I looked just a little too orange. So even though this is a fine skin tint, I do not find myself reaching for it the way I reach for some of my others. It is $52 and it comes in a pretty, shiny silver tube. 

My favorite product was the Plump Up Serum. This comes in the same fun packaging as the Bounce Back moisturizer, where you twist the bottom and the pump pops up. The serum has peptides and hyaluronic acid and is supposed to plump up and smooth the skin.

The Plump Up Serum feels elegant, applies smoothly, and absorbs quickly, leaving my skin feeling hydrated and dewy. It acts as a beautiful base for makeup under my sunscreen. (Wear your sunscreen!) I had no problems at all with it pilling or causing my makeup to separate. It is fragrance-free and suitable for sensitive skin. I have been using it twice a day, every day, along with the rest of my skincare ritual. (Double-cleanse, tone, serum, moisturizer.) 

After a few weeks of using this serum twice a day. I can’t see a dramatic change, but I can feel it. Plump Up Serum is giving me hydration benefits that make my skin feel good, even if it looks the same. It has not irritated my skin at all. It is $92 for a full size tube, and is also available as a stacking mini, or you can order a refill once you have the tube.

I appreciate the opportunity to try these products and share this Trinny London skincare review. These products are available in the United States on the Trinny London website where they have a tool that will help you find your best Trinny London skincare and makeup routine.