Last Friday was an especially good Friday: Not only did I start the day off with a healthy smoothie, I made that smoothie with Gwyneth Paltrow. Paltrow, the queen of green living, had invited several editors to New York City spot Haven's Kitchen, where we donned goop-branded aprons to concoct smoothies and learn about goop's new skincare line, which Paltrow created with Juice Beauty.
'I do really believe that beauty comes from within, mostly how you feel about yourself and how you express love of yourself, but also in the form of nutrition,' Paltrow told the room. 'And I really am a smoothie person. I love making a morning smoothie and then will drink some coffee and will not eat at all before lunch.' Before us were 10 small bowls of mystery ingredients, all from Moon Juice, the company owned by Amanda Chantal Bacon (whom Paltrow calls a 'gorgeous, white witch.') There's mushroom powder, ashwagandha, cordyceps, Himalayan sea salt, and a teaspoon of something called Moon Juice Sex Dust.
As we sipped on our goopy drinks, Paltrow talked about her new skincare line made up of USDA-certified organic ingredients. It's safe enough to eat (as she proved on The Tonight Show with some McDonald's fries):
Part of what inspired her to create organic skincare products is her 11-year-old daughter, Apple, who is obsessed with YouTube beauty vloggers and experiments with mascara and red lipstick at home. 'Beauty, as you know, is completely unregulated...I think we deserve a lot better than that, especially as the mother of a girl who is obsessed with makeup and body mist and God knows what,' Paltrow said.
We sat down with Paltrow before the smoothie-making session to talk more about the collection, makeup looks she regrets, and her many beauty rituals.
How would you describe the process of developing goop skincare?
We thought a lot about what product to start with, you know, for a goop-branded, eponymous product, and I am very passionate about non-toxic food and beauty and home, really, and I felt that to start with a really beautiful organic line of products would be the perfect expression of our ethos of goop.com and how we really put our money where our mouth is. We really believe that women are entitled to beautiful products that aren't going to compromise their health. Well, you know, we've all been accustomed to a certain touch and feel and slip of product. Unfortunately, it's because most product is full of plastic and silicones and parabens and things that are really not good for us but they give that silky finish. So I really wanted my creams to feel luxurious and have a beautiful finish, and it's harder to do that with natural ingredients, but we were able to do that.
Which goop skincare product is your favorite?
I really love them all, but I'm addicted to the instant facial. I use it every night. And it's really active and it really makes such a difference in your skin. My makeup artist was just saying she sees such a difference in my skin so that's great to hear.
You've said you used to just splash water on your face to wash it–how has your nighttime routine evolved?
You know, I was very much a tomboy for a long time, but as I start to get older, I realize I better actually try to preserve what I have and I better be a little conscientious about my regime. So I wash my face every night; I do the instant facial, the replenishing night cream, the eye cream.
What beauty advice would you give yourself 20 years ago?
Probably not to smoke cigarettes.
What are the most luxurious, and then the most low key, parts of your beauty routine?
I think the most luxurious is when I get a facial–microdermabrasion and oxygen facials. That's when I really pamper myself and give my skin a good workout. There's not one place I go to, I really chop and change. I like to try different people, different things. As for most low key, I take a bath every night in regular epsom salts from the drug store [Dr. Teal's], which is great for skin and purity of skin and relaxation to get all the energy of the day off.
Do you do a facial every week?
Oh no, no. If I'm lucky, I can do a facial once a month.
What's the best beauty tip you've taken from a movie set?
If you go in in the morning and have had a rough night, dunking your face in ice water is really good. There are makeup artists sometimes that have a jade face roller. If you're really tired those are really good.
You've named some goop by Juice Beauty lipsticks after your friends–Kate Hudson, Reese Witherspoon–any beauty advice you've gotten from them?
Cameron Diaz is probably my biggest beauty mentor of my friends. She knows how to do her own hair and makeup; she's really good at it. And she was the one who really taught me how to do my own hair and makeup back in the day so she's my biggest beauty mentor. There are lots of tips–I can't remember them off the top of my head.
What are some beauty lessons you've gotten from your mother [actress Blythe Danner]?
I think the most important beauty lesson I've learned from my mom is to be happy in what you do. She's so fulfilled by her art and she's just beautiful. She's really in her element when she's on stage and it's really inspirational to see someone who feels so much themself, you know, it's a really beautiful quality.
Any beauty look you regret?
I don't love when I look back and see the 90s eyebrow and the matte lip and the matte pale skin–that wasn't a great time for makeup, I feel. [laughs] It wasn't so good. You know, when I see pictures I'm like 'Oh God.' There's a lot of powder!
How do you maintain your hair?
My hair is pretty wavy. And it's coarse and color-treated so I'm big on conditioner and conditioning masks. There's a brand called Sodashi that's a natural hair line, so I'll put that on and sit in the sauna. I try to take care of my hair because it sort of has to withstand a lot of blowdrying and ironing, but in my own life I let it dry naturally and take a flat iron just underneath to tame it. I use Harry Josh's flatiron. I love it. I love his hair dryer too.
Do you still do the Tracy Anderson Method five times a week?
I do. I'm a creature of habit!
How do you think fitness plays a role in skincare?
I personally think fitness is a very important part of skincare and overall health and wellness and beauty. I think that the skin is our largest organ. We detoxify through it if we choose to. So a good sweat every day, you're really pushing out a big toxic load out of your body, so for me, exercise is a big part of that. I also like to dry brush which is really detoxifying for the skin. Exercise is also really important for me for balance and to get those endorphins going.
How do you spruce up after a workout class?
I try to take a cold shower. Tracy keeps the gyms very very hot, there's a lot of sweating, and in Korean and Chinese medicine, if you have a very hot experience then shock yourself with cold water, it's very very good for the nervous system, so I do that. I stay as much as I can under freezing cold water, then I do the normal shower and go back to my day.
Words by Kristina Rodulfo for ELLE USA.
