Gwyneth’s Morning Skin Routine
I don’t generally wear makeup to the office—or on the weekends, for that matter. So my routine is all about getting a natural glow: great sleep, exercise, nutrition, and a skin-care ritual that also helps me get mentally ready for the day.
If I take the time to care for my skin first thing, that’s a big part of feeling comfortable and confident all day long. I think that’s partly why that phrase “feeling good in your skin” resonates so profoundly with people. It sounds like a little thing, but it’s important.
6:30 a.m.
I get up, put on a robe and slippers, and do oil pulling—you swish minty-herby coconut oil around your mouth for a minimum of five minutes (10 is better)—and brush my teeth.
6:45 a.m.
Brad and I meditate for 20 minutes. We practice TM, which I learned seven or eight years ago. I initially did it sporadically, and it didn’t really become a routine until Brad learned it, too, and it became more easily integrated into our mornings. It’s been nice to do together during the pandemic, and we’ve kept it up.
7:15 a.m.
Brad makes breakfast for himself, and I have my coffee. (I intermittent fast most days, so I finish eating around 7 in the evening and have my first meal of the day sometime between 11 and noon.) The kids come in, so everyone’s getting ready for school and ready for the day.
8 a.m.
Once they’re off for school, I mix up some GOOPGLOW Morning Skin Superpowder in my water bottle (I dissolve two packets in my water bottle before I leave the house—I also sometimes have more as a little pick-me-up later on in the afternoon). It’s packed with vitamin C and CoQ10, and I love it because it really is skin care that you drink.*
I take that GOOPGLOW water bottle to my workout at Tracy Anderson—I do a cardio class for a half hour, then a mat work class for another 30 to 45 minutes. I love it, and I do it five days a week.
9:20 a.m.
Back home, I do my skin-care ritual—which is also part of my mental ritual to get ready for the day.
STEP 1
I start with our jelly cleanser. It’s exfoliating and it leaves my skin feeling amazing. The jelly texture is unique and pillowy, with exfoliating beads suspended throughout that are very gentle on skin but very effective. It’s nourishing and great whether your skin is dry, a bit sensitive, or oily.
STEP 2
Next I smooth on my toner. It’s made with flower acids, so it’s powerful but also very, very gentle on skin. It continues your cleansing, gets rid of dead skin cells, softens, and gets your skin ready to absorb whatever you’re putting on it next—and it feels so fresh.
STEP 3
If you use this vitamin C and hyaluronic serum every single morning for a week, I promise you, everybody’s going to say, “Oh my god, your skin looks incredible. What are you doing?” Our version of vitamin C is incredibly special because you mix it yourself: It comes in two parts—a bottle of L-ascorbic acid, which is the purest form of the skin-boosting antioxidant vitamin C, and a bottle of the ultimate weightless moisturizer, hyaluronic acid. We keep the two separate until you’re ready to use it so the product stays potent through the whole time you’re using it. (When you buy vitamin C serum that’s already mixed together, that product has already begun to oxidize, which lessens the potency of the vitamin C.) So get ready: This stuff works, and you’ll see the results on your skin.
STEP 4
I smooth on this eye cream—another active product that I love. It’s brilliant whether or not you’re going to wear makeup that day (if you’ve ever had your makeup done by a makeup artist, they always start by applying eye cream so that it has time to sink in and help with fine lines and wrinkles). This one softens wrinkles, puffiness, and dark circles, and then over time, it reduces the appearance of crow’s-feet. It’s my secret weapon.
STEP 5
Okay, second secret weapon: GOOPGENES face cream. Our clinicals are amazing on this—it’s incredibly nourishing and boosts that youthful dewy glow. My skin tends to be dry, and this fixes the problem—and delivers all these youth-boosting ingredients at the same time. I mean, it’s heaven.
On days when my skin needs less-intense moisturizing, I use GOOPGLOW Glow Lotion instead: It’s super light and instantly brightens, smooths, and combats dullness. Just a little bit leaves my skin feeling silky and fresh.
STEP 6
Lip balm is the only makeup I wear most days, and it’s also the only beauty product that I have to have with me all day. Ours were labors of love to create, but it was worth it. The first one we made—the clear one—took us three years to make. I was hyper-perfectionist about it (many balms can be drying or sticky), and I love how it turned out—it’s so cushiony and luxurious on your lips.
Then we added pigment to that formula to make two fabulous tinted balms (you get all three versions in the GOOPGENES lip balm trio). There’s a rose and a darker, garnet shade, which is my favorite. I put it on my lips, then blend a little onto my cheeks. That’s kind of my super low-maintenance makeup routine. There you have it.
STEP 7
Sunscreen—this one’s moisturizing, it sinks in like a dream (it’s a Black-owned brand, and the founder, Katonya Breaux, worked hard to make it blend into any skin tone), and it’s all-mineral SPF 30.
My routine varies at this point depending on whether I’m working from home or the office. If I’m working from home—which I currently do two or three times a week—I use that would-be commuting time to take a sauna.
9:30 a.m.
Whether it’s an office or a work-from-home day, I like to be at my desk by 9:30, latest.
On the weekends, I try to avoid my desk (I don’t always succeed), but I definitely sleep in—usually until 7:30 or 8, and I make a “boyfriend breakfast” for Brad.
Have It All?
Buy GP’s morning skin essentials together and the price is decidedly gentler. You get a daily exfoliating cleanser, the bestselling vitamin C serum, a flower-acids toner, a firming and moisturizing face cream, and the silkiest eye cream for instant wide-awake eyes.
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*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
