001. My Trinny Takeover Show Experience

The beginning of something

Vanessa Edwards

Oct 17, 2022

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London, a sunny day in July.

“Can you do it every day?” Trinny asked as we finished a demo of morning skincare and make-up routine at Trinny London HQ.
“I can…”
“Will you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Will you do it every day?”
“Yes,” I said, with a happy handshake and a doubtful mind.

Before and after photo of Vanessa from Trinny Takeover Show from Trinny London's Instagram — ‘Before’ Me and ‘After’ Me - photo from Trinny London’s Instagram

Determining where to mark as a ‘beginning’ in our lives can be rather arbitrary, ignoring years of events and thoughts that deliver us to any one random moment. But beginnings, middles, and endings are compelling and calming devices to organize an otherwise chaotic bombardment of moments strung together into a human life.

By the time I arrived in London for a transformation of clothing, make-up, hairstyle, and perspective - courtesy of the fabulous Trinny Woodall - I had already been contemplating for a while on how to bring some sort of newness into my life. My Trinny Takeover Show experience marked the beginning of a new period in my thought process, one tied to how I physically and mentally present myself to myself, and to the world.

This period is filled with joyful colours, evocative shapes, and enticing textures. And I can make decisions about these elements with a lightness of heart that feels like ice cream topped with rainbow sprinkles. - A type of creative decision making and mental energy expenditure that I am not accustomed to and one that makes decision-making a delightful exercise of creative expression.

Of course, in my work as an early years teacher, I do have the privilege of making decisions between pink playdough or pink playdough with glitter (WITH, obviously), and between the playground with the swings versus the one with a slide, or whether to sing Itsy Bitsy Spider or Five Little Ducks. But the other side of this enviable levity is the ultimate seriousness of being responsible for young, vulnerable, and impressionable humans who are the most precious presence of their parents’ world.

As a counter-balance to that weight, I found myself jumping for joy over what, at first glance, felt like consequence-less decisions about frivolous aesthetics.

Red or yellow shoes? Flared or straight-legged pants? Patterned or plain shirt? I don’t know! Let’s try them all! No one can be emotionally harmed in the process! Hurrah!

But of course, no action is without consequences…

It turns out that creating joyfully bold clothing outfits is a wonderfully accessible way for me to crack open a door to more creativity in my life. It has led me to focus extra attention on what my eyes see, and has made me more visually appreciative of the endless points of beauty that surround me. Transformed-for-a-day with Trinny is leading to a more sustained transforming-every-day, little by little. And I’m LOVING it.

Back at home several months on, I am happily using my fabulous Trinny London skin care products every morning and every night, loving the process and the results. Building on what Trinny began, I’ve connected with an amazing style coach, Eva of Vividinit, who is helping me play with putting together outfits that make me smile from ear to ear - more on that to come! I think Trinny will be proud! :-) As for putting on makeup every day… uhhhmmm… well, that’s a topic for another day!