Last year, we wrote about actress Gwyneth Paltrow because she was promoting the idea of women getting their vaginas steam-cleaned to balance their hormone levels. (As everyone who knows things pointed out, the procedure won’t accomplish anything.)

Now she’s back with even more pseudo-science. The latest Goop newsletter promotes a skincare product that supposedly works because it’s “treated to extensive prayer, meditation, and music before ever appearing on shelves.”

Because, as we all know, applying lotion to your body is pointless unless it has been treated with meditation and chants.

“It’s about doing anything to increase the energy of the products,” [founder Annee de Mamiel] says. “We put crystals around the oils. As we macerate the herbs, we play music. As we add the base oils, we use more music, crystals, and meditation. Then when we add the flower essences, they sit out with music, too.” She estimates the whole process takes about six to eight weeks. She blends the oils the way a perfumer blends notes: “In the blending room we say blessings of love and grace and gratitude; I add the oils in a certain order, and I chant as I blend them. I like to burn frankincense as I do it, to clear the room — it’s sacred, energizing, and such a pure smell.” Each product has its own chant. Once the blend is ready I meditate. Usually three words of intention come up for me in that meditation, and I like to put those on the label. Then it macerates for two months.

That’s a very long way of saying: Give us money for this bullshit product.

Ruth Graham at Slate wisely points out:

… 0.34 oz. of de Mamiel’s “altitude oil” is a mere $44. But take heart: the snake oil is free, and it’s glorious.

And then, just to add another dose of nonsense to the mix, Paltrow told the New York Times her flight rituals:

I drink tons of water, and I have a vitamin sachet that I put in it. Also, I moisturize my skin and put on a mask. I try not to eat rubbish either. I’ll pack salad and fruit. If I’m going on an overnight flight, I’ll drink whiskey or a glass of wine and then go to sleep, but on day flights, I try not to drink. When I land, I try to find a sauna to sit in for 20 minutes to help me sweat out all the germs from the plane.

I’ve been in a lot of airports. I’ve never landed and thought to myself, “Let me go find a sauna. I was sitting next to mere mortals. Someone help.”

What’s amazing is that Paltrow, like Jenny McCarthy, is selling this drivel and people are buying it. Their gullible followers are immune to facts, science, and common sense.

At least with Paltrow, they’re only throwing away their money.

(Image via Tinseltown / Shutterstock.com)



