Photo / Goop.com
In real life, Gwyneth Paltrow seems exactly like what you would expect of an Upper East Side–bred, LA-based luxury lifestyle media mogul who first put the macrobiotic diet on the map and invented her own phrase for divorce. She’s statuesque, radiant, discerning, well-spoken and emanates a kind of deliberateness about her that’s reflected in her ultra-tightly curated company Goop. Her daily breakfast smoothie contains a minimum of 11 ingredients including those with names like “ashwaganda,” “ho shou wu,” and “cordyceps.”
But, don’t judge her too quickly. She’s warm, not cold. She’s casual and relaxed, and not to mention, really good at taking selfies. Plus, she’s passionate about women’s health and wellness, which led to the development of her first skin care line, Goop Beauty. Here, we chatted with the star over her 11-ingredient breakfast smoothie to get more deets and found out a few more surprises along the way.
On Her Favorite Product in Goop Beauty
Gwyneth Paltrow: The Exfoliating Instant Facial, I use every day. I mean I think on the thing it says you’re only supposed to use it like two or three times a week, but I use it every night because I’m old and I need regeneration. But, it’s an incredible product that’s really effective. It just brings fresh skin to the surface and you feel really clean and plump.
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What Developing Goop Taught Her About Skin Care
GP: I learned so much; I mean I didn’t know anything really. I think the main thing that I learned is how shocking it is; how that the products I’ve been using my whole life are full of chemicals and carcinogens and plastics. It really galvanized me—the more that I learned about it, the more I was committed to giving people the choice to have a luxury skin product that is clean. And, I also learned a lot about clean ingredients and what you can use instead of silicones and parabens and which preservatives you can use that aren’t going to give you cancer or that type of thing.
How Goop Beauty Differs from Juice Beauty
GP: I think of them as two completely separate things. I’ve been working closely with Juice and they’re an amazing company and we co-created this amazing line of organic makeup. But this to me is really Goop’s first product. Of course, we partnered with Juice and we heavily relied on their team, but I feel like this is the first product that I gave birth to and I think that it’s very luxe. I don’t think that there’s an organic line out there that feels this luxurious and effective, and has a really good price point for an organic product that’s been so laboriously created.
Why There’s No SPF in Her Products (Yet)
GP: I personally don’t like skin care products with SPF. I like to apply it at the end. Also, SPF is a really difficult product to do cleanly. You can do it with minerals, but I didn’t want to mix. I think we’ll probably do one with SPF and it’s only because it’s something that women really need. But these first products I was really making for myself, and I personally don’t like SPF in moisturizer.
Her Skin Care Tip You’ve Never Heard Before
GP: In, general good health and hydration is really important. Sometimes we don’t absorb water well, which is why I put Himalayan salt in water to help my body with absorption.
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What She Wants to Happen to the Beauty Industry
GP: I would like there to be a sweeping legislation all around and I think that it’s of those instances of big businesses exploiting customers for their bottom line and really putting them at risk.
The more you know about it the worse you feel about it, especially because I have a daughter and she’s obsessed with makeup and products. She loves those PINK body mists from Victoria’s Secret. I wish that they regulated what was in them because you’re talking about pre-pubescent, pubescent and post-pubescent girls who are fascinated with all of this stuff and it’s full of things that are disrupting their hormones and are really toxic and heavy metals that are really difficult to excrete from the body and that mess with other functions.
It’s really quite serious and I think the consumer now is starting to become more and more aware. It is a consumer-driven movement. I actually recently just signed on with Dianne Feinstein, our senator from California. She’s introducing a “Clean Beauty Bill,” so I’m going to support her in that and I hope that people will start to take it more seriously.
On What Kind of Mom She REALLY Is
GP: I let my daughter experiment and I let her buy things that she wants to buy, but I talk to her a lot about products and what’s contained in them. Sometimes it makes a difference when I tell her and sometimes it doesn’t.
Recently she ordered a 180 eyeshadow palette from China that was literally like $1.89 and I was like, I don’t know what to say about this. I can’t imagine what’s in this product. But, at the same time I let her feel her own autonomy. It’s a balance. I’ve never been that mother that doesn’t have the Goldfish and the Oreos in the house because then I know when they have freedom that’s all that they’ll eat. I believe in not being so strict that you create this pent-up lust. But, it’s hard and I wish [the beauty industry] was more regulated so I wouldn’t have to worry about it to the extent that I do. But I also want her to feel that it’s her life and it’s her process.
