The Gist
InStyle interviewed Gwyneth Paltrow about her beauty routines, aging gracefully, and her lifestyle brand’s latest launch, Goop’s 20% Vitamin C Serum that comes in an innovative two-part design.
The new serum hits shelves online on Goop.com today, May 3.
In the 17 years since Gwyneth Paltrow launched Goop, the lifestyle brand has evolved from a food newsletter written in the actor’s kitchen into a mainstay of the cultural zeitgeist—and arguably the brand most synonymous with wellness. In the off-chance that anyone needs a reminder, Goop has rolled out one of the most talked-about candles ever, a take-out restaurant with a cult following (that’s now finally in New York), and so much more over the years.
The brand’s latest beauty product marks a return to foundational skin-care basics. Enter Goop’s 20% Vitamin C+ Brightening Serum, a new launch that evolves on an earlier product from 2020. The antioxidant stars of the original serum—vitamin C and ferulic acid—are now boosted with ectoin, a skin-soothing antioxidant that has a synergistic relationship with ferulic acid. When used together, they’re incredibly effective at improving tone and texture.
“Vitamin C is a really critical part of any skin-care routine,” Paltrow tells InStyle. “Especially as I age, because it obviously stimulates collagen, and it really protects against free radicals—which is a huge cause for aging—and it also brings an immediate glow to the skin. You can see it very quickly. So it’s become a very important part of my routine.”
Goop Beauty 20% Vitamin C + Advanced Brightening $125
Credit: Goop Beauty
Similar to the previous launch, the formula comes in two parts: a serum activator and vitamin C powder, which is fully mixed by the user ahead of their first application to ensure fresh and potent vitamin C. InStyle spoke with the boundary-pushing founder and Academy Award-winning actress. Ahead, read our conversation with Paltrow about the science behind this launch, her skin-care routine, beauty rituals, and more.
How have you been incorporating the new vitamin C into your skin-care regimen?
So, in the morning, after I exercise and stuff, I cleanse my face. We have two cleansers, so it depends on the day. We have an amazing detoxifying one, and then we have an exfoliating one, a jelly cleanser. Once my skin is dry, I put the vitamin C on and then let it fully dry, and then I put on a peptide and then moisturizer or face oil, depending on how dry my skin is that day.
The serum activator and the vitamin C powder are mixed together ahead of the first applicaiton.
Credit: Goop Beauty
What makes this formula stand out?
So, what’s so interesting and unique about ours is that, I don’t know if you know this, but vitamin C serums actually degrade really quickly when they’re exposed to water, oxygen, or light, which is why the good ones come in a dark bottle.
But, you know how with supply chain and what happens, things get mixed and made and shipped and put on a shelf, and it’s weeks before it can get in the consumer’s hand. Our research has shown that by week 10 from being mixed, it might be ineffective or less effective.
But, we separate the vitamin C powder from the serum, so that you get it separately and you mix it yourself, so that you have all of the potency.
I know we touched on this a little bit, but I’m curious to hear what your normal morning beauty routine entails?
It also entails some meditation and getting a little early morning sunlight a lá Andrew Huberman, and making sure that I am feeling in my body—that’s an important part of it. And then my exercise. I really think that beauty is a multi-pronged approach. We really talk about beauty as wellness, meaning your beauty regimen—your topical beauty regimen—is really [impacted] by what else you’re doing around it. So for me, it’s all those things as well.
I’m not a person that does a lot of hair and makeup in my real life, and I’ve always been kind of a tomboy. So for me, it’s all about skin care and getting the skin looking as great as it can and using the products that will lead the skin to look healthy, luminous, and firm. And so my routine really is focused on that. So exfoliation, vitamin C, and our peptide serum in the morning and night. And then it’s about hydration. So throughout the day, I always add a little bit of face oil, especially at my age. Hydration is a really important part of my skin-care routine.
What is your getting-ready routine like on days when you’re in glam and getting your hair and makeup done?
When I’m doing hair and makeup, I’m usually catching up on work. And you know what? I was saying this the other day to my friend, Kate Hudson, who, when she does hair and makeup, there’s music, there’s a glass of champagne. I’m like, “I want that life! Why am I dealing with daily sales reports and stuff like that during my hair and makeup?” So, I think my next incarnation, I would like to have a little more fun with it.
Gwenyth Paltrow attending the 2026 Oscars.
Credit: Getty Images
If you could give younger Gwyneth any advice about skin care, what would you want to tell her?
(Laughs) Not to smoke! I’m battling those cigarette lines from my youth.
Gwyneth Paltrow filming scenes for the movie “A Perfect Murder.”
Credit: Getty Images
Of all the iconic characters you’ve played over the years, who do you think would have the best beauty products?
Oh, probably my character [Emily Bradford Taylor] in A Perfect Murder—an uptown New York woman, she would probably have access to all the best products and facialists.
Do you have any favorite summer beauty rituals you’re looking forward to this summer, or is there anything you enjoy more about beauty when there’s more sun?
I’ve been reading more and more about how, even though we’ve demonized the sun as a culture, how critically important it is to us. So, you have to be careful and try not to be in the sun when it’s midday, and it’s at its strongest, but I do feel good getting a bit of sun and being out in nature. Of course, I wear sunscreen, but I’m actually looking for a sunscreen that does all of the things that I would like it to do. I’ll let you know when I find it!
Read the original article on InStyle