All products featured on Vogue are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy somethingthrough our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.From mantras to meditation, mindfulness to manifestation,Well Intentionedoffers an intimatelook at how to make space for self-care in meaningful ways, big and small.Last week, a meme started circulating among a certain subsection of New York literati posing asimple question that perhaps we’re not asking ourselves enough: Who is yourspirit Gwyneth? Thepast lives of actor and Goop founderGwyneth Paltroware fertile ground for mining our ownidentities—who we are and who we want to be. There are a few obvious places the mind goes whenpondering such existential questions:Great Expectations–era Gwyenth in the iconic Donna Karanunbuttoned blouse and matching skirt;The Talented Mr. Ripley–era Gwyneth with near-perfectblonde and body. But let us not forget Manhattan teen Gwyneth in a leather
jacket, gold hoops,and an enviable side swoop of hair; ’90s-era fashion-show Gwyneth, front row and double-fisting acocktail and a cigarette; and oft-forgotten but still worthy of consideration goth Gwyneth, whenthe Oscar winner andvagina candlemakertraded in her cornsilk strands for a deeper shade ofespresso that she accessorized with occasional swipes of oxblood lipstick.
No less aspirational is present-day Gwyneth: business boss Gwyneth; blissfully happy-seeming inher second marriage Gwyneth; approaching middle age and not afraid to talk about it Gwyneth. “Ihad a full midlife crisis when I was turning 40, and I went to this doctor and had a really badinjectable experience,” reveals Paltrow, who turned 49 yesterday. “I came out a complete monster,and I was like, I can’t do this anymore.” So she swore off cosmetic procedures in the short term,leaving the door open for trying something new should the desire compel her. “I’m not ready forpermanent choices. I have friends who, back in the day, did permanent lipfiller and it’s the baneof their existence,” she continues of her feelings on long-lasting procedures. But three years ago,when she found herself at an injectable party with friends where a doctor was administering vials
ofXeomin, she decided, “Fuck it, I’ll just do a little. I was so afraid that it was really going tochange my face like thefirst time, but it was so nice and really subtle.”What Paltrow refers to as “the purified aspect” of the neurotoxin made it an easy sell when thepharmaceutical brand recently asked the queen of clean beauty to become an ambassador.“Xeomin has removed a lot of the proteins that other companies have in their neurotoxins, whichmakes it less likely to tamper with our immune systems,” New York dermatologist Michelle Henry,M.D., suggests of the toxin’s minimal-ingredient promise. (“We need more data,” adds Henry, “butif you can extract that additional concern, why not?”) Paltrow now gets biannual Xeomin touch-ups to keep herself looking and feeling her best, a state of body and mind that she elaborates onbelow and includes maintaining her long-standing relationship with trainer Tracy Anderson, a goodold-fashioned shvitz, and meditating to stay present. “I’m pretty much a here-and-now person. Idon’t get nostalgic very often, and I don’t walk down memory lane,” elaborates Paltrow. “But Iappreciate all the other spirit Gwyneths, too.”
1. Be a Skin Minimalist
If the past year taught us anything, it’s the importance of “lessis more.” Working from home has helped us create, and behappy with, a more simplified life—in all aspects. As part of thissimplification, the concept of skin minimalism has reallyresonated with me: the idea that I don’t need a 30-step routineto keep my skin looking great, and that a few select productscan help me look and feel my best. I’ve always used a greatface oil or moisturizer because my skin gets really dry. I amobsessed with our GoopGenes All-in-One Super Nutrient FaceOil. I have, like, two subscriptions because I use so much of it.And I like Vintner’s Daughter, too. We also make an amazingvitamin C serum. We sell the powder and liquid separately so
it doesn’t start to oxidize until you’re ready to use it. And I usethis really strong peel pad that we have. A bunch of us girls atGoop do it on a Sunday. I’m a total tomboy and I’ve neverhad a super-complicated regimen. I can’t; it’s just too muchfutzing around with stuff. But I’ve always been into exfoliating—and what I’ve found is that a visit to my dermatologist meansI can simplify my nighttime routine.
2. Treat Your Hair
If you saw me when I came out of the shower, you’d be like,“Oh my God.” All this under here is so frizzy and the curlsdon’t go in the right direction, and then I have this smoothersection on top. If I had all one texture I could deal with it, butI have multiple textures. I did keratin back in the day but itwas not good for my hair. I recently found this treatment calledPura Luxe. They iron it in, but it doesn’t permanently alter thehair, and for six months it’s much smoother. I did it before EastCoast summer and it was great, but now it’s starting to wearoff. My daughter wants to do it now, too, so we’ll probably doit again this fall. I also like to put in a hair treatment before I
go work out, or get in the sauna, but I always get so frustratedbecause I’ll put it in and it runs down my face when I sweat atthe gym! So we just launched a new hair serum, ourGoopGlow Restore + Shine Hair Serum, and it’s kind of amiracle on my hair. I leave it in for 20 minutes before Ishampoo, and it smooths frizz and damage, softens andstrengthens my hair, and leaves it so shiny until I shampooagain—I don’t know how it does it, but it’s amazing.
3. Sweat Daily
This summer, after over a year of the pandemic, I recommittedto my four tofive days a week ofTracy Anderson, but I just doone supercharged hour. I’ve been doing it for 16 years, and itjust works so well for me. She just has a way of...I canFaceTime her and be like, “Look what happened to my butt!?”and she’ll be like, “Do this,” and it works somehow! I usuallywear just comfortable go-tos when I work out, like Lululemon,but recently I wanted to spice up my workout clothes so I gotsome things from the Girlfriend Collective and some thingsfrom this brand called Prismsport. I also love a daily sweat inmy sauna for a detox. I have a Clearlight sauna that I’ve had
for four years. Ilovesauna-ing. And if I’m on the go, there’sthis infrared sauna blanket by HigherDose that is a 10 out of10. You just get in it and you sweat. You can be on yourphone, or you can put your arms underneath, which is whatyou’re really supposed to do, and just chill, meditate, or listento a podcast. Podcasting is a really good way to get through the20 to 30 minutes. I’ve been listening to very varied stuffrecently:Crime JunkieorAnatomy of a Murder. I also loveBusiness WarsandSong Exploder. They break down howpeople made different songs, what was going on in their lives,what the baseline was, how they put it together—IloveSongExploder.
4. Take a Walk
A long walk outside is my stress release, and it’s so good forthe body. I really think thatwalkingbrings the body and thesoul together. It’s something my husband and I recently starteddoing. He has a trainer named Harley Pasternak who reallyespouses the virtues of walking. He’s not into super-intensecardio; he’s into weight lifting and walking. He said, “Brad,you need to get in 10,000 steps a day.” So I was like, “Great.I’ll do it, too.” It’s been four years since we started our walkingpractice—60 to 90 minutes is usually the goal—and duringCOVID it saved us. We have a few set walks—there is a hikenear our house—and two specific walks we do in Santa
Monica. And then sometimes we’ll drive to Beverly Hills, park,and just see what happens.
5.Meditate
I’ve been trying tofind ways to get back to my body. I reallybelieve that if you get back to your body then that’s when youstart to heal and that’s when you start to really feel what’swrong; things start to bubble up. So I try to meditate everyday, even if it’s only for two minutes, or even if it’s justawareness of breath for a few minutes. I can’t say enoughabout how much conscious breathing has changed my life. Ilearned how to meditate probably 15 years ago. I went to a
silent retreat at a Buddhist monastery with my best friend. Ihad always tried it out, but I was definitely one of those peoplewho was like, “I can’t do this; I don’t have time.” But duringthe pandemic, my husband learned Transcendental Meditation(TM) and now we do it every morning together. There are somany ways to do it, and especially for people who do it fortwo seconds, that’s OK, too. My normal meditation is TM, butif I’m having a lot of anxiety I might do a different practice thatreally focuses on breathing, or I’ll do box breathing, which iswhen you inhale for four seconds, hold for four seconds,exhale for four seconds, hold for four seconds. It’s the quickestway to synchronize your mind and your body.
