On Wednesday, award-winning actress and Goop lifestyle brand founder Gwyneth Paltrow discussed the creation of a $75 candle she’s selling that apparently smells like her “vagina.”
According to the actress, the name started as a joke, but stuck as a statement against women being “shamed” for their bodies.
“It’s a candle, and, um, so, it’s called, ‘This Smells Like My Vagina,'” Paltrow awkwardly said during an appearance on “Late Night With Seth Meyers.”
“So, it sort of started as a joke. I was with ‘the nose’ Douglas Little for his brand Heretic and we were sort of messing around and I smelled this beautiful thing and I was like, ‘This smells like my vagina!'” she told host Seth Meyers. “And I was kidding, obviously.”
“And, we were on mushrooms,” Paltrow joked. “We weren’t, we weren’t! We weren’t on mushrooms!”
“I think women, a lot of us have grown up feeling certain degrees of shame around our body or whatever,” the actress said. “So this is just a little bit of, you know, a subversive candle for all of us out there.”
As noted by The Daily Wire earlier this month, Goop’s website explained that Paltrow first came across a scent that she said reminded her of the smell of her own vagina. The scent was then finalized for the “This Smells Like My Vagina” candle, which reportedly sold out within hours of its test run.
“This candle started as a joke between perfumer Douglas Little and [Paltrow] — the two were working on a fragrance, and she blurted out, ‘Uhhh … this smells like a vagina,’” Goop outlined.
The smell then “evolved into a funny, gorgeous, sexy, and beautifully unexpected scent,” according to the company.
“That turned out to be perfect as a candle — we did a test run … and it sold out within hours,” the lifestyle website says. “It’s a blend of geranium, citrusy bergamot, and cedar absolutes juxtaposed with Damask rose and ambrette seed that puts us in mind of fantasy, seduction, and a sophisticated warmth.”
In 2018, Paltrow’s nontraditional wellness company settled a six-figure lawsuit surrounding their “vagina eggs,” which were promoted to help regulate females’ hormones and negate menstrual cramps.
“It turns out, contrary to Goop’s advice, shoving a large egg made out of a porous mineral into the recesses of your lady-regions may not be the best treatment for conditions like endometriosis,” The Daily Wire reported. “Apparently, Goop knew — or, according to a complaint filed by the California consumer protection office, Goop should have known before they marketed this product, as well as a ‘flower essence’ they claimed treated depression, to consumers on their website.”
“The health and money of Santa Clara County residents should never be put at risk by misleading advertising,” the attorney for the California consumer protection office said in a statement. “We will vigilantly protect consumers against companies that promise health benefits without the support of good science … or any science.”
WATCH (relevant comments begin at the 3:30-mark):
Related: Gywneth Paltrow Is Selling A Candle That Smells Like Her Vagina