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Gwyneth Paltrow is in a fabulous mood. Having just completed a photoshoot, and on the precipice of starting her work day, she takes a transitional moment in her sprawling Montecito backyard, all cypress green and pool blue, 70 degrees and zero humidity, to take some sun, as well as a short phone interview.
And me? I am in the subterranean wellness floor of a downtown Manhattan spa, having had to exit a sound bath (which is just what it sounds like) a few minutes early to call Paltrow to discuss tinted balms for the cheeks and lips and lids. After begging spa employees for a private place to take a private call, I am able to locate a warren furnished with an Eames chair and an infrared sauna. One feels compelled, in such close proximity to an infrared sauna, to inform Gwyneth Paltrow immediately. (“Ooh!” she said.)
Paltrow is a true movie star. And yet her influence in the world of Hollywood has long been eclipsed by her influence in the global wellness community. Once, Goop was a newsletter written by Paltrow; 15 years later, it’s an online magazine, e-commerce website, line of clothing, line of skin care, Netflix series, wellness event series, podcast, fragrance, and also Mediterranean cruises. Today, a new category emerges from Goop: Colorblur is a small pot of moisturizing balm presented in five shades, each providing a wash of translucent color.
It’s also Goop’s first color cosmetic, and certainly will not be the last. Real Goopheads will remember when Paltrow consulted on a line of makeup for Juice Beauty seven years hence, which endeavored to combine clean ingredients with red-carpet performance. That line included 78 shades of liquid foundation, blush, eye shadow, concealer, lipstick, and more. Colorblur is much lower maintenance — one cream formula, five shades, only a fingertip needed to apply. Paltrow tested them by walking around Goop’s Santa Monica headquarters, making her employees blush. “And they work on everyone,” she says, with satisfaction. She was so excited that she could not help herself, and so she phoned Allure to share the news.
This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Allure: Congrats on Colorblur! Why a cheek color for Goop’s first color launch, and how are you using it so far?
Gwyneth Paltrow: This is a really perfect foray into color for me because I'm obsessed with skin care and exfoliation, and I have dry skin and aging skin and sun spots and all that. I've also been kind of makeup-averse my whole life. But I do like that subtle boost you get from a good mascara or a cheek color. It's just so good.
I'm still using the original little tiny pots that we got from the Co-Man [contract manufacturer], so I don't know which one is which, but I use all of them. This summer, I went into the more bronze and terracotta one. In the evening, there's one that looks almost fuchsia in the pot that's really nice.
Allure: This is a big launch for Goop, and it's also your 15th year in business. How might you describe this moment in Goop’s history?
GP: Well, I think we're always pursuing a new iteration of ourselves, and in a way I'm like, ‘Wow, it took us a really long time to make color,’ but everything that we've done has kind of been so organic over time that it kind of makes sense that we would go into color on our 15th anniversary. It's a good way to make a splash.
Allure: You started Goop as a newsletter very much in your voice. Does it still feel like Goop is GP, all of the time?
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GP: Well, to me it feels a lot broader. I think because to your point, it was just me in my kitchen writing a newsletter, and now we have a fantastic editorial team. And the people who aren't creating content who work with us are really adding to Goop’s vision… I even think of a lot of the business leaders at Goop as very much part of the voice. I think we're about a 200-person team. The beauty of it, for me, is that I feel like it's this big collective voice, and I hope that more and more my role as kind of the figurehead can be diminished — maybe distributed is a better word — across other people. I would love it if it was less and less about me over time and more about that collective of people who are like-minded and sort of curious about the same thing.
Allure: Could you ever see Goop going on without you?
GP: Oh, absolutely. I very much hope that at some point I'll be able to take, first maybe a backseat role, and then kind of get out the car and maybe walk alongside the car, and then see the car off on its way. I think it's the mark of a great brand that it can live and even grow and prosper past its founder. There are a lot of brands that are able to do that, and I would love nothing more than for Goop to be one of those.
Allure: When Goop launched, the idea of a “celebrity” brand was not unprecedented, but the market has certainly become much more crowded. Do you have any thoughts on what distinguishes Goop from less successful celebrity-led ventures?
GP: To be honest, I don't know the full landscape all that well, and so I'm not sure what has not performed well or why. But it’s just really fucking hard, and I didn’t know that when I started. I had no idea what I was getting into. We've had tremendous ups and scary downs, especially through Covid and through the direct-to-consumer model changing so much. It takes a lot of capital and a lot of grit and a lot of stamina and a lot of being able to withstand the storms, whether that's people trying to take you down or a bank crisis or anything in between. I just think it takes a certain perseverance that I definitely have.
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I don't know if it's unhealthy, my levels of stick-to-it-ness. But I'm just so committed to what we're doing. And even if we were to fold tomorrow, the education that I've had, the meaning that I've been able to accrue, the conversations we've been able to start, I'm just proud of where we've gotten. We're in a great place and we're doing some exciting stuff, but you never know. It's about remaining humble and agile and never thinking that you can relax and rest on your laurels. Everything changes on the dime.
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