Gwyneth Paltrow: Beauty Guru

“I was never a girl who wore much makeup,” Gwyneth Paltrow explained to a group of beauty editors in a sunlit penthouse in downtown New York’s Nolita district earlier this week, “But now that I have a daughter who’s obsessed with makeup and makeup videos on YouTube, not knowing exactly what was going on our skin started giving me cause for concern.”

So, a stroke of good luck (and a well-known and hugely successful blog) connected Paltrow to natural skin care brand Juice Beauty, who signed her as creative director as they set out on the daunting task of creating their new Phyto-Pigments Makeup Collection (out in January).

“Women should have the right to use beauty products that aren’t harmful in any way,” said Paltrow, as she took us through the line. “But they must also work in front of the camera and on the red carpet.”

A tall order, indeed, but game chemists tapped purple carrot and rose for lipstick and blush pigments, and pine-resin waxes for the mascara.

“If you are committed to clean beauty, it can be done,” stated Paltrow. “It’s expensive and time consuming and a pain in the ass, but it can be done. If anything, there’s a slightly different approach to how you use some of them.” Case in point, the concealer pots need to be warmed up with a finger before they’re soft enough to be dabbed on, and the mascara might need a second or two to dry before applying the next coat.

Paltrow, a self-described “mascara, cheek and lip” wearer, admits she sent many a lab sample back during the arduous process. “I had a conventional benchmark that I brought to the chemists for each product to equally perform,” explained the actress, who also named each shade. The lip crayons are named after favorite beaches, liquid lipsticks for friends. And what was the name of the muted plum on her own pout?

A coy smile formed on her mouth. “Gwyneth.”