Gwyneth Paltrow in her ‘punk rocker’ Max Factor ad: does she pull it off?

Gwyneth Paltrow

Max Factor clearly has their work cut out for them while employing Gwyneth Paltrow as their latest downmarket spokesmodel. Last month, the cosmetics brand revealed their first of “seven sides of Gwyneth Paltrow” by painting Goop in her “writer” persona, which Goop herself basically described as a creative person who goes out to dinner in London. Yes, it was ridiculous because Gwyneth unironically failed to realize that writers spend most of their time, uh, sitting at a desk and, you know, writing. As far as the rest of Goop’s makeup personas go, I personally can’t wait to see Max Factor’s take on her “cleansing” persona. Admit it — you’re curious too.

Now Max Factor has revealed Goop’s “rock chick” persona, I guess because she’s married to a “rock star.” Yes, those quotes are there for a reason because Coldplay really isn’t “rock” music, right? But this is about makeup, and Gwyneth’s look here is essentially all about the smokey eyes. She actually looks really good with her hair all mussed up (as opposed to her usual flat-ironed tresses) like that because I can sort of see some sex appeal bubbling under the surface. I’m not really crazy about the pink sequinned dress though.

Gwyneth Paltrow

Here’s a behind the scenes video of Gwyneth gooping it up as a punk rocker chick. Does she pull it off? Not really, but it’s better than her “writer” persona.

Gwyneth Paltrow

Photos courtesy of Max Factor

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88 Responses to “Gwyneth Paltrow in her ‘punk rocker’ Max Factor ad: does she pull it off?”

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  1. Hannah says:

    Gwyneth Paltrow: Punk Rocker. LMFAO!!

    • Vesper Lynd says:

      IR?! I haven’t stopped laughing myself… XD

    • *unf* Joan Jett says:

      Yup, punk rock is the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of Goop. Of cause.

    • Minty says:

      LOL! It’s similar to her previous attempt to be a country singer. In other words, a fail.

      Gwyneth is now more of a poseur than an actress.

      Of course she shills peasanty drug store make up she’d never choose to wear in real life. It’s another paycheck this bitch needs to maintain her expensive elitist existence.

      • Nina W says:

        Hey don’t dis Max Factor, he is the reason women wear make-up today! Max Factor was a make-up man in Hollywood who did such amazing work they started selling his stuff in drugstores and the rest is history. He popularized cosmetics.

      • Minty says:

        @Nina W:

        Hey, I wasn’t dissing Max Factor at all. I am well aware of his contributions to cinema during the early days of Hollywood.

        I was pointing out that Gwyneth is too much of a snob (hence my sarcastic use of Celebitchy’s word “peasanty”) to use drugstore makeup in real life because it is not overpriced, fancy-shmancy department store makeup. We all know how she favors ridiculously priced products.

        I myself often use some good drugstore cosmetics and I certainly appreciate the reasonable prices.

        You read more into my post than what I implied.

    • Pandy says:

      LOL – good one! the raccoon eyes (they passed smokey a long time ago) in the bottom left picture are a scream! Make up artist should be shot. Every girl I know wears that eyeliner in 11th grade.

    • Molly says:

      I’m feeling really nervous her dress is going to go up.

    • Molly says:

      I’m really nervous her dress is too short and it’s going to expose her Priscilla.

  2. lisa2 says:

    Is she still an actress. I know she has a role in Iron Man…but why is she never about the acting.

  3. Skeksis says:

    Um, no. She does not.

    • cmc says:

      I remember her saying something about not wanting to take on any more big/starring roles and instead focusing on supporting parts/modeling work because it takes her away from her kids less to take on smaller work commitments. I may be paraphrasing but I remember reading something like that from her.

  4. FirstTimer says:

    Uh… No.

  5. Rita says:

    Run Raccoon McPantless, run!!!!

  6. RN says:

    That’s exactly what my hair looks like when I first wake up.

    She looks just like Heather Locklear in the first photo. Careful, Goop, you’re getting overfilled.

  7. Dee Cee says:

    so sads upside down eyes.. windy hair.. super short top..wow.. amazing transformation.. It can’t be her.. unbelievable..

  8. Apples says:

    For a makeup AD, I shouldn’t be sneering and wondering which talentless hack did her makeup.
    She could look a lot better than this.

  9. Amelia says:

    Ooh, that reminds me, I’ve got to get Christmas make-up tomorrow.
    Thanks, goop!

  10. marie says:

    the header picture doesn’t look bad to me BUT in no way is Coldplay “rock”..

  11. HulaHoop says:

    On what planet is she supposed to look like a punk rocker in these pics?

    • Tara says:

      Seriously, right? Who thinks that’s punk?

    • hazeldazel says:

      riiiight, because of course punks wear pink sequined dresses and with straightened, gently tousled hair and light foundation and makeup, plus a smokey eye. That totally screams the sex, drugs and rock&roll generation to me.

  12. Sweet Dee says:

    Nope, doesn’t pull it off. Still looks like a Hollywood Stepford Wife cyborg.

  13. handsome man saved me from the monsters says:

    This is terrible advertising for a cosmetics company, her makeup looks just awful.

  14. vixo says:

    She looks good but I agree. This is certainly NOT a punk rock look. More like a rich chick trying to look cool and bad ass !

  15. BooBooLaRue says:

    Rode hard and put away wet.

  16. Happy21 says:

    No, she does not look good! She is so, so, so plain. I never got the appeal. I’ve never found her beautiful or even overly pretty for that matter. And as far as her bod goes I’ve always thought her too skinny.

    Nonetheless, she looks try hard, her make up looks like crap, her hair even crappier.

  17. dcypher1 says:

    Wtf gwyneth, punk rock? Shes anything but punk rock. Gwyneth the punk oh the irony. U know she really thinks that gig is too peasanty for her.

  18. BengalCat2000 says:

    Punk? Seriously? I bet Joey Ramone & Sid Viscious are rolling over in their graves & still prob look better than her overrated bland ass.

  19. Elceibeno says:

    Her legs are too thin. Gaining just a touch of weight would make her look so much better.

  20. annaloo. says:

    When are they going to get it right with her– her seven personas are Park Ave Princess, Shallow Socialite, Snob, College Dropout, Mean Girl, La Nepotisma, & Thumping Bore!

  21. Joyce says:

    Did the photoshop pull it off? Yes. Big time.

  22. Belle says:

    I think I’m the only person here who doesn’t hate this woman. I think she looks great in the first photo, though she is much prettier with less make up… much less. Yes, I think she is pretty… always have. I admit I don’t really follow her, so she may very well be a pretentious bitch… and she does need to ditch the center part… but I don’t hate her. 🙂

    For some reason, I really love ‘A Perfect Murder’, and have seen it more times than I will admit to. Like her in that… though I suspect Viggo is probably the main attraction for me!

    • MinnFinn says:

      The pink dress says triple saukau, definitely not punk rocker.

      Major Photoshop on her thigh in the 2nd shot. No way it’s that muscular.

      The top photo looks good. And it’s a different look for GP. So I’d say it’s achieving the goal of the ad campaign.

      Oh, and I don’t hate her either.

    • swack says:

      Don’t hate her either. Don’t think they pulled the “punk rocker” look off. The first picture is gorgeous but my first reaction was not punk. I think of punk as a more “hard” look as opposed to the “soft” look here. But it is also just my opinion.

      • Nina W says:

        I don’t hate her either but I can see why people find her annoying. And there is nothing punk or rock here.

  23. karen says:

    i like that gwyneth is all about living healthy and having the “right” moral standards and stuff…and yet she doesnt care that max factor does animal testing for cosmetics.

    i wish gwyneth would care for those bunnies that spend their hole life in constructions where their heads are kept tight. so they cant move away with their bodies and get cosmetics put into their eyes and stuff. but i guess…its beneath her to care for anyone else.

    not my native language so…i am sorry for my grammar.

  24. lambchops says:

    I feel like she’s waiting to get the ‘most awesome person ever’ award. She seems like she has a lot to prove and has become so over-exposed.

    Her PR folks need to let the public actually miss her, not see her on a magazine, a TV show, a movie for at least six months. I can’t think of a week that goes by that she’s not in the media. Perhaps that’s why the public is so fed up with her.

    And who is her Goop target audience? People who can afford her schtick, already know where to eat and buy expensive stuff and people who can’t, cant.

    • lucy2 says:

      I agree, she’s overexposed and has been for a year or so now. Stepping back a bit from the constant barrage of ads, articles, books, Goop stuff, and movies would be a good idea.

  25. anneesezz says:

    L.A.M.E.

  26. Fofototto says:

    Her makeup looks soo greasy and runny. Max Factor has some quality products, why not show em off? Also she looks heavily photoshopped in the ad compared to the behind the scene shots.

  27. grrrl_75 says:

    Um…what exactly is punk about a pink sequined mini-dress and teased hair? She looks like a beauty queen the morning after.

  28. islandwalker says:

    I exudes zero sensuality. She always seems asexual to me.

  29. HannahF says:

    To me she’s looking LeAnn Rimesish.

  30. Diana says:

    Um, great legs. That’s all I got.

  31. KC says:

    WHY OH WHY does she insist on the stick straight hair?! It does NOTHING for her.

    There’s nothing punk rock about the transformation, whatevs — did we really expect it?

    The hair though UGHHHHHH

  32. fabgrrl says:

    Seven sides of Gwyneth Paltrow….she is the Perfect Mother, Perfect Wife, Perfect Daughter, Perfect Friend, Perfect Actress, Perfect Singer, Perfect Model. Did I miss any?

  33. truthful says:

    uhhh NO, just NO.

  34. StormsMama says:

    Why all the hate? She is who she is and she’s always evolving as a woman and a mother. So what if she’s upper crust elitist east coast classic? I like her. I think she’s always been out of touch with financial reality (for most people) so she has a built in snob’s eye view of the world. On the other hand she’s making the very best of her lot. And she’s a healthy role model to women. And….I just don’t get the hate. If you don’t love her or she annoys you – go for it, it’s your right of course. But if you hate her -dig deep as to why. Her showing us her life doesn’t mean your life sucks.

    ///end rant

    • Aagje says:

      I think the hate is there because she is in fact a snob but shoves it into our faces, under the pretense that she really is “one of the common folk”, when every time she tries this she ends up advertising ridiculously expensive products on her blog etc. Or worse, talking about her oven she has in her house in London….

      It’s bloody annoying and if she was straightforward with the snob-persona, I actually think people would appreciate her a lot more. She wouldn’t pretend to be something she’s not.

      • Sweet Dee says:

        +1 Aajae

        The “hate” comes from the fact that, while she’s an upper crust snob, she pretends she’s a mere peasant like the rest of us. I wouldn’t characterize it as “hate” though, she’s just very easy to poke fun at because of it how sincerely she tries to push this image. You’ll notice nobody’s screaming at her to go away and die, just making jokes at her expense.

        OH, and she most certainly is NOT a healthy role model to women. Neither her diet nor her exercise “tips” are based on science, and her trainer/partner Tracy Anderson is a fraud. Check out the “tips” they put in Redbook this month–totally fallacious bunk.

  35. e.non says:

    uh… no. hell, no.

  36. erika says:

    does she just run around hawking everything to sell to the plebians? like, organic food homeless people like me can afford, makeup, trainers, cookbooks…she’s like, Arther Miller’s ‘death of a goopy saleswoman’.

    Doesn’t she ever have time to just sit down, shutup and focus on her family/private life? like, i thought that was her ‘thing’ now? “I am a mother, a matyr, I shall now do everything I can…for the child…”

    then she gets hawked up to be a hooker/rocker for cheap makeup sold in grocery stores?

    fyi goopy, you’re 40, and me too? and i look at least 10 yrs younger…ha ha!!!

  37. tabasco says:

    i wonder how long she spent in front of the mirror perfecting that hands crossed on the leg prevent cooch flash pose

  38. nikzilla37 says:

    That’s not punk.

  39. mkj says:

    As an ex-punk rocker. I’m offended. 🙂

  40. telesma says:

    She pulls it off like a prissy middle-aged housewife playing dress-up pulls it off. Which is to say, not at all.

  41. Alex says:

    Hahahaha no, not even a little bit. Also, whoever did her makeup did an awful job.

  42. I think her makeup is light and natural looking, but “rock star” not so much. Unless forgetting to put on pants/messing up your hair a little counts as rock star 😉

  43. Poppy says:

    2013, at least the first half, she has so much to promote. Goop onslaught. Get ready.
    Curious why she didn’t mention the half dozen tumblrs that are 200% dedicated to mocking/making fun of her in one of her more recent “news” letters regarding the interwebs? Those interns got a laugh.

  44. Mrs. Ari Gold says:

    Seeing this reminds me that I really have to be sure not to try this look. We are about the same age and I think at this very moment I am realizing I hope I never try to look young – it just makes you look old.

    She’s so elitist there’s just no way she can pull this off.

    • kimcheee says:

      Great point. I cringe when my “cougar friends” try to play groupie. We are all 45-50.

      Why didn’t they get Miley or Pink?

  45. Mandy says:

    I’m sorry, but she’s just not very attractive if you ask me. At all.

  46. Ally8 says:

    Wow, she must really feel that her film career is winding down. She’s been doing more and more ads, and ever more downmarket.

    First, Estée Lauder, then Tod’s, then Coach, then another perfume for Hugo Boss, and now Max Factor, a drugstore brand.

    Personally, it didn’t encourage me to buy any of these products. She may have an enviable lifestyle, but she is not aspirational as a person… she comes across as just miserable and judgemental.

  47. Catherine says:

    i think she looks nice. I am so clueless on how to do eye makeup though so maybe this is crap to everyone else.

    • Nina W says:

      I agree with you and the makeup clearly looks better in the posed and lit shots than in the candid ones where it does look kind of greasy.

  48. Raven says:

    That second picture shows way too much thigh to be at an event. If her dress is that short, she needs to wear it as a top.

  49. shewolf says:

    Wow, so glad all the authentic punk rockers came out to clarify this for me. I would have sworn Goop was totally part of that clan now. Punk rock is an image just like anything else ladies… I really see no difference between some band member wearing shiz like this or Goop wearing shiz like this. I could dress up my 92 year old grandmother like this and she’d be as punk rock as the next kid.

  50. Lotta says:

    I like the dress and she got great legs, otherwise I think she looks like a scarecrow.

  51. lady X says:

    She is not all that pretty … sorry .. she just isn’t … she looks plain and her hair being that blonde is not a good look for her

  52. muppet_barbershop says:

    “Punk” where? She looks like a hard-up lady looking for hookups at Studio 54. My brother was a real punk, and I am still a wannnabe punk, and no. Just no.

  53. Tuxedo Cat says:

    I was a teenager during the punk era. Lots of kids dyed their hair black, and wore long asymmetrical bangs. Lots of black with safety pins hanging everywhere. Black leather jackets, everything tight-fitting. If you wore a mini-dress or skirt you wore tights under it. Punk was not about showing skin, it was a rebellion against preppy fashion which some other kids were into.