Gwyneth Paltrow brings her website to life at Goop event
CULVER CITY, California: There were organic paleo wraps and matcha smoothies, crystal readings and aura photography, hydrating IV drips and an “oxygen bar,” $72 aromatherapy candles and $90 vitamin packs, plus lectures on gut health, mothering and self-help: It was Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop website come to life.
Paltrow hosted the inaugural “In Goop Health” event Saturday in Culver City, California, where about 600 women spent the day chatting, learning, eating, shopping and generally indulging in the designer-wellness lifestyle touted by goop.com. Another such event is planned for January in New York, Paltrow said.
She described the gathering as a “summit focused toward being and achieving the optimal versions of ourselves.”
It offered a full day of programming at three price levels: $500, $1,000 and $1,500. The top tiers included fitness classes and lunch or cocktails with Paltrow and featured panelists. All guests had access to lectures, organic foods and pampering treats like manicures, face massages, a hairstyling bar and goodie bags. There was an extra charge for IV drips and B-12 injections.
Between lectures, women mingled in the “Goop Hall” of shopping and sustenance. Food stands handed out kefir bowls and bee-pollen smoothies. A “pharmacy” sold health books and Goop-branded vitamins. The “Clean Beauty Apothecary” carried Goopbranded cosmetics. Other shops had kitchen gadgets and workout wear for sale, including a $195 Goop sweat shirt.
“I didn’t really know what to expect, but I’m definitely impressed,” said 44-year-old Dawn Watts, a self-described “avid Goop reader” who traveled from New York to attend the event. “You can’t take advantage of all of the offerings because they booked up too quickly... That’s the only thing that’s been disappointing.”