5 Skin-Obsessed goop Staffers Pick Their Desert Island Clean Beauty Product
We tend to focus on skin above anything here at goop—so when we asked five goop staffers for their one all-time favorite clean beauty product, the essentials they ended up choosing were decidedly skin-centric. (The last time we did this, Gwyneth’s choice was a star skin product, too.)
So from a melts-right-in, moisturizing blue balm to a “California glow” serum, this all-star list is something of a road map to your most radiant, healthy-looking complexion.
“Honestly, I know it’s called Sleep Milk and I use it at night, but I sometimes cheat and use this even in the morning—I love the soft California glow it gives my skin. I can see the improvements in my skin texture (it looks more even), and I know it’s removing the dead cells. And I get more compliments on how good my skin looks when I’ve used it. If I’m going to cheat, I use it in the morning after I shower. I wash my face with the cleansing balm, and some days I skip the moisturizer and just use the Sleep Milk (in either case, sunscreen is the last step).”
“This is the one luxury beauty product I always reorder when I run out. It’s a super soothing, moisturizing blue balm that melts into your skin. Like everything acupuncturist and aromatherapist Annee de Mamiel makes, it smells and feels amazing. I smooth it on as the last step in my routine most nights and apply a little extra whenever my skin is feeling particularly dry—nothing turns it around like this balm. And I also slip just the balm into my purse when it’s not practical to bring a full kit—it’s great solo, after the beach, on lips, etc.”
“This has quickly become my skin-care holy grail. Cosmetically elegant; plays well with my extremely sensitive, dry skin; and best of all, it leaves my skin with the most natural glow.”
“Before I worked at goop, I worked at a beauty magazine, and with that came a lot of product testing. And free products. Two things happened: I became very, very cheap. And I became nonmonogamous with beauty products. No matter how much I loved a particular product, faced with the choice of paying to reup or going with a different brand for free, I always chose option B. When I came to goop, I was lucky enough to share a table at our New York office with the beauty team—a joy for many reasons (if you haven’t heard Jean Godfrey-June wax poetic about the appeal of Love Island, you haven’t truly lived).
“Which is how I came by my first bottle of True Botanicals Vitamin C Booster, the only product I’ve tried for free that I’ve ever repurchased (I’ve kept myself in stock for six years). Here’s why: The formula has just three ingredients—vitamin C, ferulic acid (an antioxidant that works synergistically with the C), and tapioca starch. It’s a powder, which helps it stay potent—vitamin C starts to degrade when it gets wet. You just mix a dash of the powder with a little water or a water-based serum or moisturizer; I mix mine with a couple pumps of face mist in the palm of my hand, then smooth it on. It sinks right in (no stickiness), and I can feel it tingle slightly, which I love because I feel like it’s a sign of how potent it is. It’s also a dream for travel (because again: powder form). And it delivers all the skin-brightening, tone-evening goodness of vitamin C—which my almost-47-year-old skin can’t get enough of.”
“There’s a line in one of my son’s bedtime books about the special euphoria of ‘washing away the day’ in the shower—and this heavenly, skin-smoothing, psyche-pampering body scrub does exactly that. Overflowing with gorgeous botanical oils, as well as cornmeal and activated charcoal for some kick-ass exfoliation, the nourishing formula leaves you petal-soft and noticeably revived from the rigors of the day (be they work rigors or parenting ones). It smells beyond, too—the blend of orange, katrafay oil, cedar, and amyris is fresh, herby, softly woodsy—just perfect.
“About those bedtime books: Love Makes a Family by Sophie Beer is in constant rotation at my house right now. We love the colorful illustrations showing different types of families—two moms, a single parent, two dads, and more—doing cute things together, like eating cupcakes and splashing in puddles.”
