Celebrity beauty lines are nothing new. It seems like every time we turn around, a famous face is shilling something new. But when we heard Gwyneth Paltrow would be introducing her very own skin-care line, our interest was piqued. Paltrow is, after all, notorious for devotion — almost obsession — to über-healthy living. So, you know any lotions and potions springing from her clean, green mind are going to be purer than the driven snow.
Goop (named after Paltrow's wildly successful lifestyle site) is a six-piece facial skin-care line created with Juice Beauty, an organic brand that Paltrow has been intimately involved with. She's served as the brand's creative director, creating and developing the brand's makeup line. But while Goop skin care was formulated with Juice, Paltrow says it's a line that stands alone.
"I feel proprietary about both of them," she explains, "but this is our own label product and it's something I take great pride in. I worked really hard to create it."
To get the full rundown, we sat down for an interview with Paltrow where we learned everything: How she takes care of her skin, what her biggest beauty fears are, and why Apple's recent makeup purchases make her nervous. Let's just say the girl might be an even more experimental makeup junkie than we are. Keep clicking and get ready to get a health-infused contact high.
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What inspired you to create a skin-care line?
"The skin care is something that I’ve been so incredibly passionate about. I essentially made it for people like me, people who are looking for really effective [products] — vain people like me [laughs]. I wasn’t finding that kind of efficacy in the health food store. I thought there must be a way to create incredible beauty products for your skin that work."
What did you learn about skin care during this process?
"I didn’t know anything, really. I think the main thing I learned was how shocking it is that the products I've been using my whole life are full of chemicals, carcinogens, and plastics. You have this idea of clean, non-toxic beauty; and then, you really start to look at what that means. The more that I learned about it, the more I was committed to making products that give people luxury skin products that are clean."
Photographed by Amy Lombard.
How did you decide what the line should be?
"I really approached it as a customer when I was creating them. I want something that’s going to minimise fine lines and wrinkles, make my skin glowing and plump, and what can go in there that can do that that's organic. I really went into the research and development of these products with the end of it in mind. How do I want them to work, how do I want them to feel. I wanted it to have a kind of ocean-y scent and feel really fresh and clean."
Photographed by Amy Lombard.
Which product are you the most proud of?
"The Instant Facial. I use every day and it’s been an amazing product. I think on the thing, it says you’re only supposed to use it two or three times a week; I use it every night. Because I’m old and need the regeneration [laughs]. It’s an incredible product — it brings fresh skin to the surface and [your skin] feels really clean and plump."
Which product was the hardest to create?
"The Night Cream. It was the hardest one, because I wanted it really thick, luxurious, and nourishing; but then, it would get too waxy or too this or too that. It was pretty close, but then it just sort of changed — all of the ingredients are natural and it’s not as foolproof as the conventional chemicals. Right up until the end, we had problems getting it exactly right. I think it might be something that isn’t completely perfected until the next batch, but luckily, we do them in pretty small batches."
Photographed by Amy Lombard.
Your hairstylist, David Babaii told us that you naturally have really wavy hair. Why do you prefer to straighten it?
"I think it’s one of those things you get in the habit of doing. In my normal life, I have it very wavy all the time. But because it can be so hard to tame, it’s just easier to blowdry it if I have to work all day long."
Why do you think it's so important to take good care of your skin? What are the most important things to do to achieve that?
"Your skin tells all your secrets. [You have to have] good nutrition and exercise and hydration."
Is there anything in your routine that's not green?
"It's hard for me to find green hair products that work for me. I think that might have to be our next foray."
What's your biggest beauty regret?
"The '90s wasn’t a great makeup time. Like those pencil-thin eyebrows and the matte matte matte skin. I don’t know what we were thinking."
Do you have any beauty splurges?
"I feel like my beauty splurges are more treatments, like facials and getting a laser that gets your collagen going. Those things are all pretty expensive. I’ve never bought a $500 cream or anything like that, but I know they exist."
Photographed by Amy Lombard.
What do you hope will start to change in relation to how beauty products are made?
"I would like there to be sweeping legislation and reform. It’s one of those instances of big business exploiting their customer for their bottom line and putting us at risk. The more you know about it, the worst you feel about it. I wish they regulated what was in it.
"You’re talking about pre-pubescent, pubescent, and post-pubescent girls who are fascinated with this stuff and it's full of things that are disrupting their hormones. I think the consumer is starting to become more aware and it is a consumer-driven movement. I actually signed on with Senator [Dianne] Feinstein — she’s introducing a clean beauty bill and I hope that people will try to take it more seriously."
How are you working with Senator Feinstein on this bill?
"I started with doing a big, massive send to sign petitions to get people aware of it. It’s such an important piece of legislation, because this is replenishable stuff and we buy and we absorb so much of what we put on."
Photographed by Amy Lombard.
With your daughter, Apple, what are the beauty rules in your household?
"It’s tricky, because I don’t want to make the margin so small that she feels like she’s being deprived of something. I let her buy the things that she wants to buy. But I talk to her a lot about what's in certain products — sometimes, it makes an impact on her; sometimes, it doesn’t. She recently she ordered a 180-eyeshadow eye palette from China that was literally a $1.99 and I was like, I don’t know what to say about that, I can’t imagine what is in this product.
"But I want her to feel her own autonomy. I’ve never been that mother that doesn't have Goldfish or Oreos in the house, because then I know when they have freedom, thats all that they’ll eat. I believe in not being so strict that you create this pent-up lust. But it's hard. I really wish [beauty] was more regulated, because then I wouldn’t have to worry about it to the extent that I do."
What was your main goal with this line?
"We really value the trust of our reader and our customer and we really want every choice to count. Whether we’re recommending a hotel, a restaurant, or a product — we really wanted something of real quality that we couldn’t find in the marketplace and offer our consumer the opportunity to buy a really effective, organic skin-care line. What is in our minds is safety, efficacy, and providing something of real value."
Goop by Juice Beauty, available at Goop Skincare.
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