How I Shop (Beauty Edition): Golde's Trinity Mouzon Wofford
Our "How I Shop" series documents how prominent figures buy clothes. It can be a social experience, and a deeply personal one; at times, it can be impulsive and entertaining, at others, purpose-driven, a chore. The same goes for beauty — and there's a whole lot to unpack in the way we discover, test and purchase hair, skin, makeup, fragrance and wellness products. Now, we're delving into all of it with "How I Shop: Beauty Edition."
Through her company, Golde, Trinity Mouzon Wofford has made it a personal (and professional) mission to bring inclusivity and accessibility to the wellness industry. With major product and retail expansions in the past year alone — including launching at Target in January — that goal is well within reach for Wofford. But as someone so entrenched in the beauty and wellness world, how does she approach her own routines and beauty stash?
"I try to shop directly with brands I love whenever I can. I like the direct-to-consumer brand experience — you really get to enjoy all the little touches," Wofford tells Fashionista, adding that she's "definitely been known to end up grabbing like a dozen things at Target, too."
While Wofford approaches shopping for clothing with an emphasis on vintage and investment pieces, her beauty routine is a bit more low-key: "I think with beauty products, I'm a little more strict with the budget — you're not buying a face oil to last you five years."
Ahead, Wofford shares her full beauty and wellness routines, from how she goes about trying and discovering new products to the beloved products she always comes back to.
How do you go about discovering new brands and products?
I'm definitely big into natural beauty. I look for brands with simple ingredient lists and formulations that I can trust. I also look to see who the founder is and what their values are — that means a lot to me, knowing who's behind the products I'm using.
Do you think you have a signature beauty look?
I don't wear any makeup 98% of the time, so I'm mostly just a skin-care person. I used to be really into the dewy look, but now I prefer to be a little more matte. That impacts the face oils that I use — the greasier ones I'll save for my nighttime routine. If I'm wearing makeup, it's probably a smidge of concealer and a little pop of lip color. I used to experiment with wearing more makeup, but now that I'm used to going without it, it's hard to go back. I don't like to feel like there's a layer on top of my skin!
Have you made any changes to make your routine more sustainable or lower waste?
I'm definitely a lot more conscious of this than I was a few years ago. One of the biggest things I choose to do is simply not use a ton of products. We all love a good 10-step skin-care routine, but that's so much stuff. It can be fun, but you really don't need all of that in your daily routine to have healthy, happy skin.
Walk me through your skin-care routine.
Morning or night, I always start my routine with a gentle cleanser. Right now, I'm loving Circumference's Daily Regenerative Gel Cleanser. It utilizes up-cycled ingredients and has this gorgeous, botanical scent. It feels like it really cleanses without drying me out at all.
Toners and mists are great, and I switch between a few, depending on how my skin is feeling: There's Palermo's Hydrating Facial Toner (which is herbaceous and moisturizing), Chidori-ya's Hinoki Water (which is like forest bathing in a bottle) and Josh Rosebrook's Daily Acid Toner (for gentle exfoliation). After that, I moisturize with some face oil or balm. Right now, I'm really sweet on Lauren's All Purpose Serum. It's a blend of hemp oil that's been infused with burdock root — I love, love, love everything about this one. The scent is deliciously earthy, the oil locks in moisture without a touch of greasiness and the pump dispenser is less messy than the usual droppers.
Once a week or so, I'll mask with a mix of Golde's Clean Greens and Papaya Bright. The powders blend together nicely with a bit of water and form a gel that I leave on for about 15 minutes. This is the game-changer that really keeps my skin clear and calm. If I get lazy and skip a week, I really notice it.
I'm obviously big on the inner beauty routine, too: Coconut Collagen Boost goes in my daily afternoon matcha to help support hair, skin and nails, and I pop a Skin Hydration Ade in my water a couple of times a week. Both of those contain hyaluronic acid sourced from fermented veggies that helps to plump and hydrate your skin. With all the Zoom calls these days, I can't get enough.
What about body care products/tools?
I love a good washcloth! My partner, Issey, turned me onto this Japanese one that's infused with charcoal from Morihata. Bar soaps are my favorite and I love to try a new one whenever I'm in a cute little shop. I always come back to one from Palermo Body, though — its rose geranium bar is a masterpiece (cleanses without drying, plus major aromatherapy points).
For body oils, HBFIT's collab with Highline Wellness is really, really good. I also love anything from Esker, especially its Restorative Oil. (I'm a sucker for anything featuring carrot seed oil.)
How often do you try a new beauty product, and how often do you actually end up adopting a new one into your routine permanently?
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I love trying new stuff! I'd say every other month or so, I've got something new in the routine. Often I will cycle through face oils and body oils, but every so often you find something so good that you just can't give it up.
Do you have a favorite product from Golde, if you had to pick just one?
Impossible! Okay, let's go with Debloat Ade — it's a blend of pineapple juice and coconut water that's boosted with real probiotics and digestive enzymes for fast relief. For me, it works miracles and tastes amazing.
What does your go-to makeup routine look like?
I'm really not much of a makeup girl, but I'm extremely partial to Kosas' lipstick in the shade Stardust. It feels more like a balm and gives the perfect kiss of pink. Now that the masks are finally coming off, I'm excited to start wearing it out again.
What about your hair-care routine?
I have long, extremely thick, very dry and fragile hair — that's to say: It's a process. I've spent the past 10+ years dialing in on what works (and what absolutely doesn't), and here's where I've landed: Once a week, I cleanse with Briogeo's Avocado Quinoa Co-Wash. It has the right balance of slip and hydration that my curls crave. It takes 30+ minutes for me to work that through wet hair in sections.
I rinse with cold water to cut down on frizzies and then apply an oil or balm to lock the moisture in. I've actually been loving this body butter from my friends at Yesfolk — it's a simple blend of natural ingredients like shea and cocoa butter, and my hair just soaks it up. From there, I keep my hair in braids until dry to keep it from getting tangled.
What about fragrance — do you have a signature scent? What about home fragrance or candles?
I'm extremely particular about fragrance. Anything synthetic gives me a headache. I love everything from Mondo Mondo — Cowboy used to be my signature, but now I mix it up with other [scents] depending on the season.
Do you have a "self-care" or wellness routine? Any favorite rituals, products or tools you use for that?
Now that the weather's warm, I'm back on my smoothie game. I always do a base of romaine and celery. From there, I'll add whatever frozen fruit is on hand, some ginger root and ideally some fresh mint from the garden. Recently, I did that with frozen pineapple and added a scoop of Coconut Collagen Boost, which was so, so good.
What about nails?
The only thing I'm worse at than makeup is nails. I just keep them cut short and that's it. I like the natural, healthy look. I do find that adding Coconut Collagen Boost into my routine has helped to strengthen my nails, thanks to the bamboo extract and the biotin.
What are some of your favorite smaller or up-and-coming beauty brands? Any favorite products from them you love?
I love Klur, it has a great gentle cleanser that's really well-formulated. And Supernal, of course — their Cosmic Glow Oil is always on hand, especially when I feel like I need a little brightening.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
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