It’s a fall full of new beginnings for Gwyneth Paltrow. She’s returning to the big screen—for the first time since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame—with Timothée Chalamet in Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme. And she’s trying retinol for the first time. In typical Paltrow fashion, she didn’t just grab any old bottle from Sephora. Instead, she created her own Goop formula, aiming to avoid the dreaded skin purging, flaking, and redness. But while not all heroes wear capes, they do, it seems, still need to sleep. To celebrate the release of her 3x Retinol Serum and her return to set, Paltrow shares her nighttime routine, complete with mouth tape and a $60,000 mattress.
WHEN DO YOU START GETTING READY FOR BED?
At 7:30 or 8:00, I start my whole bedtime ritual. During the pandemic, we got in the habit of eating dinner really early, and it’s sort of stuck.
TAKE US THROUGH YOUR NIGHTTIME SKIN-CARE ROUTINE.
I get in the bath every night. I use our microderm exfoliator in the bathtub. That’s step one, and then I have a pretty simple routine: I use our new retinol serum, and then I layer it with our peptide serum, and then I layer that with our All-in-One moisturizer, and that’s it.
HOW DO YOU DECOMPRESS AFTER A LONG DAY?
I like to take an evening walk. Or, a nice glass of red wine always does the trick, even though it’s not so good for you.
DO YOU ADD ANY STEPS WHEN YOU’RE SHOOTING A PROJECT?
I don’t even know. It’s been so long since I’ve shot a project, and now I’m about to, so I guess I better start paying attention. I think if I was shooting something, I would make the bath extra-hot, with essential oils and Epsom salts, or the Goop “The Martini” bath—it helps me sleep really well.
WHAT’S ONE THING YOU DO BEFORE BED?
I sleep with mouth tape and earplugs, so I get all my sleep stuff lined up.
WHAT DO YOU WATCH?
My husband and I usually get in bed and watch something, and sometimes, very counter-intuitively, I’ll fall asleep to a murder show. It’s sort of like a lullaby for me—I don’t know why. Right now we are watching Drops of God, on Apple TV+. It’s not a murder show, unfortunately, but it’s very good. My mother recommended it.
DO YOU EAT OR DRINK ANYTHING?
I try not to eat for a couple of hours. I sleep better if I don’t have a full stomach. I do like tea at night—a nice mint, chamomile, or fennel.
HOW ABOUT SUPPLEMENTS?
I don’t take nighttime supplements unless I’m having a bout of anxiety or something, and then I’ll take some magnesium or melatonin.
ON TO YOUR PAJAMAS …
I’m a big pajama person. Right now my favorite pajamas are from Schostal, in Rome.
ARE YOU PARTICULAR ABOUT YOUR SLEEP CONDITIONS?
Yes: no light, no sound, and I like it cold.
HOW ABOUT YOUR BED?
My sheets are from a company called Beltrami, in Italy. It’s funny you should ask about my mattress: Sorry to plug Goop, but I swear to God, we made one with Avocado mattress. It’s an insanely expensive, luxurious mattress, and it is the greatest thing I’ve ever slept on in my life. And the pillows I use are from a place called Cuddledown.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE YOU TO FALL ASLEEP?
I’m usually out like a light.
WHAT’S YOUR STRANGEST NIGHTTIME HABIT?
My husband would definitely say it’s the mouth tape.
WHERE’S YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO SLEEP?
Anywhere I can sleep with the windows open and get fresh air. So anywhere in the country, or where there’s not a lot of cars.
WHAT’S THE BEST NIGHT’S SLEEP YOU’VE EVER HAD?
I remember one day on my honeymoon waking up and feeling like I had had the best sleep of my life, and I just woke up so happy. And I guess it was a good sign.
Clara Molot is a Senior Editor at AIR MAIL
