Bowen Yang Gets Unfiltered on Group Chats, Gatekeeping, and Desert Island Beauty Products

Irene RichardsonFri, September 25, 2026 at 1:00 PM UTC

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Credit: Estée Lauder

For a millisecond, Bowen Yang and I swapped places—leaving me on the receiving end of his applause rather than the other way around. “I would have been genuflecting and bowing and praising,” he said, had he known I nearly took our interview wearing a hospital gown. (For context: I had to reschedule our original chat after a mild concussion.) “I’m very happy to be talking to you,” he told me. And the brief Freaky Friday moment made me self-reflect: There’s no world where I’d be as humble or gracious as Yang were I experiencing his current career highs.

In addition to being an Emmy-nominated writer, comedian, actor, and co-host of his beloved podcast Las Culturistas, Yang has made his Broadway debut as Mary Todd Lincoln in the Tony Award-winning hit show Oh, Mary! this fall. Not to drop a big fat “I told you so,” but InStyle did clock him as the man of the moment three years ago, making it particularly satisfying to watch his upward trajectory.

Amid rehearsals and podcast prep, the multi-hyphenate also found time to star in Estée Lauder’s new campaign for Advanced Night Repair, “Guilty as Skin.” In the ad, Yang unloads on his therapist, played by comedienne Ana Gasteyer, about his guilt over gatekeeping a really fantastic beauty product from the group chat.  Perhaps this real-life dilemma is one of the few instances where my daily life aligns with his.

Seconds before heading into Oh, Mary! rehearsals, Yang squeezed in 20 minutes to chat with InStyle about group chat dynamics, nonnegotiable nighttime rituals, and what products are worth saving from TSA’s trash can of despair.

What’s your relationship with gatekeeping? Do you share everything all the time, or keep the juiciest recs confined to your inner circle?

I run my mouth every week on my podcast. I am an open book and an open wound about everything in my life. It doesn’t occur to me to withhold, especially if I’m enjoying something. I’m so used to the exercise or the pipeline of: I experience something, I like it, I tell people about it. I’m not fencing it in or whatever—it’s for everyone. It’s a very individualist model to be like, “This is for me and me alone”; that’s not going to fly.

What’s one beauty or wellness tip you wanted to gatekeep but eventually ended up sharing?

I’m the last to find out about anything, or I’m irresponsible with that information. My mom was jade rolling and gua shauing when I was a kid, and I was like, “I don’t think that’s real.” Now, I feel like a full idiot for writing that trend off. I don’t think I deserve to know anything about beauty.

If your nighttime beauty routine were a guest on Las Culturistas, what would the title of the episode be called?

“How Did This Much Water Get on the Bathroom Counter?” I keep it pretty contained. I used to do a light exhale, and it sounds gross, but you flush everything out through your nose, which would make things splash out. But I just go crazy—even when I feel like I’m being dainty, demure, and delicate, like, no, suddenly there’s been a really terrible monsoon.

How has working with Estée Lauder felt authentic to your everyday relationship with beauty and skin care?

I’ve been an Advanced Night Repair (ANR) evangelist for a long time—it’s a classic for a reason. I was very flattered that the brand even considered me. I don’t know if this is true, but I feel like I’m not among many men who have worked directly with the Estée Lauder brand, and I feel very privileged in that respect.

The best part of working with Estée Lauder has been their understanding and their ability to hit this very authentic nerve that I think everyone relates to: the idea of taking things to the group chat and negotiating how much you want to reveal to a small circle or a wider one.

What’s made you be a consistent user of ANR over the years?

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There’s something crazy about the whole ANR milieu that I’m really impressed by. It’s a tonal thing. It’s a crazy airbrush thing. I put it on, and I’m like, “Smile line gone.” The results are pretty immediate.  Even when we were shooting the campaign, I would put ANR on, and the crew would say, “Oh, wait, that stuff actually really works.”
It was clockable. I was like, “Wait, is it the lighting here? This never happens in my real life with any product.” I guess it’s like ghosts; you just have to believe it even if you don’t see it.

As a chemistry major, how important is the science behind skin care for you versus word-of-mouth?

I’ve always been fascinated by the industrial applications of chemistry, but in skin care I’ve always thought, “I guess I’ll follow the trendy thing.” Now I have this wonderful dermatologist that I really rely on, who’s also Asian and very specifically understands the particulars of our skin. His training and understanding resonate with me, which makes me think I’m a little more science-minded behind skin care now.

With a product like ANR, you have hyaluronic acid, a humectant, and antioxidants to preserve collagen. I understand all these things on a biochemical level—and it had peptides before peptides popped off.

Youcan only rely on one person for beauty advice for the rest of your life—who is it?

It’s my dermatologist. Any other skin care influencers I follow are also board-certified dermatologists, and they share the same level of engagement, passion, and interest in skin care and the beauty industry. They have this awareness of how it’s all in dialogue. I still follow James Welsh, a British skin-care expert.

What’s a nonnegotiable step in your nighttime routine?

I will watch every single “Get Ready With Me” or “Go to Bed With Me” video that anybody puts out; it doesn’t matter if I know who they are. On a meta level, that’s very nurturing and restorative.

Then there is one ASMR artist who does vintage Seventeen magazine flip-throughs from, like, 1958 or whatever. The [skin care] concerns were the same, like “How do I prevent wrinkles? Use sunscreen.” We’ve been circling the same things over and over again because the needs stay the same…there’s something comforting about that.

If a TSA agent were throwing out your favorite beauty products, which three would you save?

A healing ointment for sure, because there are a million different uses for it. SPF, absolutely, and, of course, ANR Essence. I will barter with the TSA agent and be like, “Okay, I want to go past three ounces; I want a tub of this. I’m not checking it. I need this on my flight.”

I love the idea of bartering with a TSA agent; I might try that.

They’re unethical people, and the rules are not consistent.

on InStyle

Original Article on Source

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