#NotSponsored: I Tried Gwyneth Paltrow’s Favourite Goop Product

If, like me, you base a portion of your life/health/beauty advice on what Gwyneth Paltrow does, then boy, do I have a product for you. For the uninitiated, Gwyneth Paltrow’s website, Goop, launched its namesake range of beauty products into Mecca earlier this year, so Australians can now (seamlessly) get their hands on them. I spent time editing down to the one product I would review for you, our Gritty Pretty reader. After all, the range comes with a lot of hype, and we all hate to be let down by a cult product. They’re also not inexpensive and many of them would need to replace something already in your routine. It has to be worth it! So, I asked myself: WWGD? (What would Gwyneth do?).

In other words, I took to the internet and researched until I found the product Paltrow seems to recommend the most often: GOOP GOOPGLOW 20% Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Acid Glow Serum. I figured, isn’t the product we confidently tell others to buy always one of our personal favourites? With this logic in mind, I knew this glowing serum was the product I had to trial and review.

The Sell: Let’s hear from Gwyneth herself. This is how she describes the GOOP GOOPGLOW 20% Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Acid Glow Serum. “You really see results on your skin—next-level glow, softness, smoothness—when you use this serum. People will ask you what you’re doing! And it stays potent till you finish it.” Gwyneth has spoken.

The Price: $190. 

The Review: Like its name suggests, this serum combines two skin-loving ingredients: vitamin C and hyaluronic acid. This is important to remember because upon purchase, what you notice first about the product is it comes in a tidy little Goop box—it’s basically an at-home science kit! Inside, you find a little glass bottle full of pure vitamin C powder and then the hyaluronic acid serum separately. Why? The two-part design keeps each part fresh—and effective—because you only mix together the potent ingredients before its first use. (Goop says for best results, use within three months of activating the serum).

Don’t worry: it’s easy to do. You twist off the two lids and then squeeze the hyaluronic acid serum into the vitamin c powder. Pop the cap back on the little glass bottle and give it a good shake. Then, you can switch out the cap for an easy-to-use dropper (because Gwyneth thinks of everything!). 

With my serum ready to use, I applied it for the first time in the morning on clean, dry skin, using the dropper to transfer the product to my fingertips and then massaging it into my face like any regular serum. On first use, it did sting very slightly for around 15 seconds, but once absorbed, felt comfortable on the skin. I was working from home on this first day, so I applied a generous amount of SPF and then let the serum do its thing.

While most vitamin C serums are only for morning use, Goop insists you can apply this in the evening too, due to the hyaluronic acid, and it will get to work to counterbalance oxidative damage from the day. That was a little much for me after the second day and I quickly reverted back to AM only. 

By day three, I was noticing the results. My skin had that overall glow where the light hits your forehead and your skin looks glass-like. The serum has three different molecular sizes of hyaluronic acid, which helps it to get down into different layers of the skin, plus the vitamin C in the form of L-ascorbic acid, which accelerates the production of collagen. Goop also throws in the antioxidant superfruit Australian kakadu plum, which helps to fight free radicals. 

While expensive, this is a very, very good serum. It’s rare to get this combination of potent ingredients together, so it’s a bit of an all-in-one product. I’ve now been trialling the product for two weeks (sticking to mornings only) and my skin texture feels smooth and consistent, while that glow I mentioned has remained. Gwyneth basically sums it up when she says “next-level glow”. It’s definitely on the higher end of the price spectrum when compared to other vitamin C serums but given the quality of efficacious ingredients and the double duty of hyaluronic acid and vitamin C, I think it’s worth it. 

The Score: 7/10