Chances are, you’ve already encountered Malin+Goetz before. You might have passed one of its standalone stores in New York, London or Hong Kong, used its amenities during a hotel stay, or spotted it at one of its stockists like Holt Renfrew here in Canada. The modern and minimalist brand first opened the doors to its Chelsea flagship store almost 17 years ago. It was started by Matthew Malin and Andrew Goetz who lived just above the apothecary-style space. Since then, the brand has created a beauty empire based on simplified approach to skincare that now spans across the globe.
When the pandemic hit, the co-founders left New York City for their renovated 19th-century farmhouse in the Hudson Valley. From there, they chatted with 100 ML about the joy of gardening, their foray into the hotel amenity business and where they hope to travel in the future.
How did Malin + Goetz come to be a part of hotel amenities?
Matthew: It didn’t happen by design. About six months into the business, we met a New York magazine editor. She had just come back from Mexico City where she had done a piece on a new hotel called Habita and the guys that owned it were living in New York City. She basically said to them, “You should really talk to these guys who’ve launched this incredible brand here in New York and be the first to get it.” So they met us and were like, “We want to put your amenities into our hotel.” We said we don’t have any amenities. And they’re like, “Well, would you make some?” We said we could try. By the time we turned a year old, we had a small amenity offering for them. I don’t think we’ve ever solicited any hotel, airline, gym, salon—any place where you could find an amenity from us. It’s happened very organically.
Many of the products have been inspired by your collective travels like Dark Rum.
Matthew: Dark Rum was partly inspired by a trip that we had taken to Mexico for a wedding that we were attending in Tulum. Everyone was drinking mojitos out on the beach. Our brand is really rooted in traditional apothecary and perfumery concepts so peppermint, lime for astringent properties, rum, sugar cane, these kinds of things. It [captured] the romanticism of being on the beach in Tulum. When we came back, we had had an opportunity with a fragrance house that had approached us. Lo and behold, we ended up with Dark Rum, which ended up going into the Morgans Hotel Group. It became a huge success for our brand and became a staple as part of our amenity program.
How did your time in your Hudson Valley home inspire the Tomato Candle?
Andrew: We bought a little farmhouse in upstate New York and it turned out to be the best investment we ever made for our mental health. We started gardening. I had never really been a gardener before and Matthew hadn’t been a gardener, and we just loved it. There was something so cathartic about it. And of course, one of the joys of living in the Northeast is that there’s no better tomato in the world. The tomatoes may not be the prettiest, but they are the most tasty. It was this great, amazing thing that we loved to do. I canned the tomatoes, and we just became obsessed and cook with them, obviously.
One of the things that’s so interesting when you’re gardening, particularly with tomatoes, is that when you’re staking them, the oil from the stem comes off really easily. It’s this incredibly green fragrance, which is completely different from the fruit or the blossom of the tomato. We thought, what if instead of canning the tomatoes, we could can the scent in a candle? That was the birth of the tomato candle.
Stem was another product that was inspired by the gardening.
Matthew: Stem is inspired by the idea of being in the garden for the day—pruning, ripping things out, cutting things—and what’s left on your hands is the green residue from the day of work. Stem is the conceptualized idea of the different aspects of what a flower or an herb would be without it actually ever addressing the bloom. It’s sort of the idea of the anti-floral. How do you create a floral scent that’s not really floral but embraces all these beautiful things that are floral?
What’s the first city you’d like to visit once we can travel freely again?
Matthew: There are so many. We go frequently to Los Angeles and London because we have stores there. And we are also pretty regular to Hong Kong. If I had to just ask for the first choice, I think it would be London because we haven’t been in over a year now, and we love it. It’s so close to what New York is in terms of all the things that it offers.
Andrew: Quite honestly, a trip to Brooklyn at this point would actually be a nice change of pace. But I think if I was going to choose, as much as I love London, going to Rome and sitting outside with a bowl of pasta and a 10-year-old glass of red wine on some piazza sounds like heaven.
Malin + Goetz was inspired by traditional apothecaries. Are there any apothecaries you’ve encountered during your travels that you really love?
Andrew: We were in Munich about a year and a half ago, and we went into that old German apothecary with these beautiful wooden case goods and a very austere clinical attendant who kept looking at us like we were crazy. Every city has them, certain European cities have more. Even Milan has some great old apothecaries and Paris obviously. They can just be little holes in the wall. The one thing they always have in common that they all basically smell the same, which I love.
Matthew: Here in New York, and we’re sold there, is C.O. Bigelow Apothecary, which is incredible. It’s really an institution. In Chicago, there is Merz Apothecary.
Malin + Goetz has an essentials kit that has travel-friendly products. What makes it a great travel companion?
Andrew: It’s TSA-approved so that if you are actually getting on an airplane, you don’t have to worry about checking your products. They’re also in see-through bags. When we say essential kit, it really is our essentials. It’s basically the foundation of the brand.
Matthew: The brand was founded on a two-step concept of how to perfectly pH-balance your skin from head to toe. So the cleanser and moisturizer for your face, your body, your hair. We launched with those six products, including a few others 17 years ago.
