Gwyneth’s Longtime Skin Whisperer Shares Her Pre-Event Sculpting Technique

The day before the whirlwind of Oscars red carpet prep, Gwyneth turned to her longtime skin whisperer, Anastasia Achilleos, for the deeper prep work. “To create a red-carpet result, we work with the whole system. Posture, breath, fascia, emotional state—all of it informs what we eventually see on the surface,” explains Achilleos, a celebrity facialist and holistic practitioner with a worldwide roster of clients.

Her face-sculpting method targets the fascia, the connective tissue beneath the skin that covers the muscles. “When fascia becomes dense, sticky, or compressed, the face can appear tired or puffy,” she explains. By contrast, when that tissue is stimulated and encouraged to glide and rehydrate through touch and movement, "the face appears more alive, sculpted, and radiant,” says Achilleos, who also worked with Gwyneth in the lead-up to her 2018 wedding.

While facial massage—and Instagram tutorials promising to fix your facial posture or wean you off Botox—may feel ubiquitous now, Achilleos has been studying fascia since the ’90s. Over the decades, she’s learned that fascia is intimately connected to the nervous system, which is why her hyperpersonalized sessions are often about supporting emotional state as much as the skin, she says.

“The skin is not separate from the body. It is an extension of it, which means that any meaningful transformation in the face must involve the systems beneath it: fascia, lymph, blood flow, breath, hydration, and the nervous system’s ability to feel safe enough to respond,” she says.

Luckily, we don’t need weeks or months to produce extraordinary results in the body and face, she says. So we asked her to share a holistic beauty and wellness routine for the week leading up to a big event, whether you’re preparing to walk down the aisle or heading to another big event on your social calendar.

Ahead, her ritual for glowing skin and a nervous system reset—plus how to wind down and come back to yourself after a night out absorbing everyone else’s energy.

Step 1: Reset Your Environment and Nervous System

If the lead-up to a big event has you feeling frazzled, Achilleos suggests taking a few minutes to prepare a calming environment before you reach for any skin-care products. Dim the lights, add a calming scent, and take a few deep breaths. “The nervous system responds to context," she says. If you want the face to lift, drain, and glow, the body must feel safe enough to release.”

Step 2: Cleanse and Awaken the Tissue

Turn your evening cleansing routine into an opportunity to “awaken the tissue,” Achilleos suggests. Start by applying the goop Beauty Luminous Cleansing Balm to dry skin, moving slowly in broad upward and outward strokes. “The richness of the balm allows for deep, uninterrupted glide, which is essential for working with fascia,” she says. “You are stimulating circulation, encouraging lymphatic movement, and inviting the fascia to soften and respond.”

Step 3: Feed and Sculpt the Skin

Feeding the skin with powerful ingredients at a cellular level—and being intentional about the way you apply those nourishing products—can turn your skin-care routine into a skin-lifting ritual, according to Achilleos. She recommends using Youth-Boost Peptide Serum —an all-in-one serum that targets key signs of aging for a radiant glow before a big event.

Pressing the serum into the skin, begin at the neck to open drainage pathways, gliding along the jaw toward the ears, lifting from the cheeks toward the temples, and smoothing the forehead upward, she says. “As you massage, you are increasing blood flow, encouraging lymphatic drainage, and creating space within the tissue—this is where natural lifting begins,” she says.

Step 4: Depuff and Brighten

These eye masks are great to use right before a big night out, but they’re also great in the week leading up to it if you’ve been getting, “You look tired.”

“The eye area reflects lymphatic flow and nervous system fatigue quickly,” Achilleos says. This step supports both: “Gently hold the temples or rest your hands over the eyes and let the system settle,” she says, then leave on for at least 10 minutes to visibly improve the look of puffy eyes, dark circles, and crow’s-feet.

Step 5: Seal in Moisture and Support

Apply your moisturizer as the final step—again using slow, upward strokes. As Achilleos explains it, this step not only seals in moisture but also seals in the more receptive and oxygenated state of your skin.

Her pro technique: “As you massage it in, focus on releasing held tension in the jaw, around the mouth, and across the brow—these are emotional holding zones that directly affect how the face sits,” she says.

Step 6: Dry Brush for Glowing Skin

Leading up to a big event, your exfoliating skin-care rituals should be inclusive of your body, which Achlleos suggests turning into a full mind-body routine. First, dry brush before getting into the shower or bath. “Begin on dry skin. Brush in long, upward strokes toward the heart. This helps to remove dead skin cells, stimulate circulation, and awaken the lymphatic system,” she says.

Step 7: Create a Full-Body Hydrating Mask

After getting out of the bath or shower, combine the goop beauty body oil and nourishing repair body butter in your hands, warming them slightly between your palms. Apply the mixture over the entire body like a mask, then rub in using long, upward strokes. “Massage slowly and thoroughly. This encourages hydration, circulation, and a radiant, red-carpet-ready glow.” (Gwyneth also applies the body butter day-of for a subtle body sheen on the red carpet.)