And why did that initial focus on make-up (albeit with skincare benefits) shift into developing standalone skincare?

It all started with the first product I formulated – BFF Cream [a tinted moisturiser that contains SPF]. I wanted to create a product that would give women a glow because the women I was trying to reach, women between the ages of 35 and 90, had grown up in a matte world and I wanted to introduce them to the idea of glow. I also wanted to get women to wear SPF and I wanted them to understand that it was necessary for the winter and summer, inside or outside. It quickly became one of our bestselling products.

At that time, I was already working on the formulations for the rest of the BFF family – De-Stress and Rebalance – and I really felt that I was able to dig into the chemistry and get into the lab and think about the key things I wanted to create.

I received a clinical report on the ingredient neurophroline and it talked a lot about being able to reduce the levels of cortisol on your skin. I have a lot of adrenal stress, I produce a lot of cortisol and I know that when I’m tired and stressed, I look wisened. And I thought, oh my god, if this can work on eliminating the cortisol on your epidermis it can work on your skin as a skincare product but it can be the last thing you put on because cortisol accumulates around the microbiome on the very top layers of the skin. And it worked! That’s when I started developing skincare.

Trinny Woodall: an honest account of her journey from exhaustion to founding a global beauty brand