Benny Drama Says This Highlighter Will Make You Look ‘Fresh Out of the Womb’

Benito Skinner, the genius behind your favorite Instagram account, shares all of his shopping secrets.

Benny Drama Says This Highlighter Will Make You Look ‘Fresh Out of the Womb’

Benny Drama—real name Benito Skinner—is the original King of Instagram. Before everyone and their mom started going live during quarantine, the 27-year-old actor and writer built a cult following through his steady roster of over-the-top characters (and some serious glam). 

Some favorites that put him on everyone’s explore page: Jenny, the delightfully unhinged hairstylist, and zodiac signs as obnoxious millennials (he’s a Scorpio—you heard it here first). He’s also known for his spot-on Kardashian impressions. (“I’ve gotten really nice responses from them,” he tells me over the phone. “Hopefully people see that it’s coming from a friend and a fan of the show.”)

Skinner, who grew up in Idaho, started Benny Drama while he was figuring out how to break into the entertainment industry after college. “Being an actor or a comedian or a writer was not something I thought would happen,” he says. “I was like, ‘Do I drop a headshot off at an agency’s door? I didn’t go to Tisch. I’m not a director’s son. How does one do this?’” 

He started putting out content on his own, with characters born out celebrities and pop culture references he’s “actively obsessed with.” That standom and lack of cynicism was part of the appeal, and he’s now attracted over 1.3 million followers on Instagram. Jennifer Aniston, Miley Cyrus, and yes, the Kardashians are fans.

Instagram itself recognized Benny Drama as one of the platform’s biggest stars by including fan-fave character Benita in its #WeMakeToday project. The campaign celebrates the diverse and talented creators on the platform who have entertained and inspired us, especially in the past year when we’ve needed it most. As Skinner says, “Instagram helped me share my work and made it so that I could not only share it but also meet people in the process.”

So what’s next? He’s got a pilot in the works and a storyline with Busy Philipps on season four of HBO Max’s Search Party, now streaming. “I love playing a character that I didn’t write, and one that I get to explore for more than a minute,” he says. “It’s like heaven.” 

Also heaven: Talking contouring, skin care, and how to take good care of your wigs with Benito Skinner for Glamour’s latest installment of Your Fave’s Faves. Read on.

For a really nice dewy glow, if I want a little highlight in a video or even just during the day, I use the MAC Strobe Cream. It’s not glittery, which I like. When I want to be glittery, I’ll go glittery. But if I just want it to look like I’m 16 and absolutely fresh out of the womb, I’ll do Strobe.

MAC Strobe Cream

I’m such a sponge guy. Like, blend all day with sponges. I tell every single person I come in contact with, “You just have to keep blending.” If you have an extra three minutes, just keep blending. It will change your life.

MAC 240S Synthetic Large Tapered Blending Brush

The key is to always keep your wigs very separate from each other. Benita is going to have a new wig in the new year. It’s very Dukes of Hazzard—it has pink on the ends, and it’s a little bit easier to wear than some of the others. So yes, separation is key. If they start clashing, they will frizz out. That’s not it.

Okay, I have a few. Just Friends with Anna Faris and Ryan Reynolds is one of my favorites. It counts as a Christmas and New Year’s movie, and Anna Faris is a powerhouse. She’s a revelation in that film. Truly, one of the best comedic performances, in my mind. What else? Well, 13 Going On 30 is huge. Then low-key, Notting Hill. Never forget Notting Hill. And The Switch with Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman is underrated.

I’m literally a Michelle Pfeiffer stan. Sue me—One Fine Day, Catwoman, those are some of the greatest works I’ve seen. She was my icon as a kid. I use her Henry Rose fragrance called Last Light. It’s all a very clean fragrance. There’s no chemicals in it that will make your skin break out or anything. That one I use at night because I like when my bed smells good.

Last Light

I do slather a lot of products on my face, and recently I have realized that maybe we’re all exfoliating way too much. When I did a Kardashian Christmas, I put on literally 12 pounds of makeup and was just stripping my skin every day. So I ordered Krave Beauty’s Great Barrier Relief after using it once and loving it. I’m hoping that this gives me everything it’s promising. I think if I coat my face in that for the next week, everything’s going to change for me.

Krave Great Barrier Relief

I have the low back of a 90-year-old man because I played football in high school, and I ran track. It just destroyed my body. Any CBD lotion is my self-care plan. Haoma is my favorite.

Selling Sunset changed my life. Are you kidding? Those are my absolute ride-or-dies. Selling Sunset was huge. It was actually an entire era for me in quarantine.

I started posting playlists just for friends, and now a lot of people follow them on Spotify. I think the one I’m most proud of is “I Remember Touch.” Then I have one called “Should I Go Live?,” which has a lot of my faves on it.

I had been looking at this one pink Jacquemus suit for a long time. For my birthday, I was like, “You know what? I’m going to buy myself this suit.” Pink is my favorite color, and I realized that I didn’t allow myself to have pink be my favorite color when I was in the closet. Now I’m making up for lost time. I just know that there’s going to be somebody’s birthday party that I need to make about me, and I’m going to wear that pink suit.

Madeline Hirsch is the senior social manager at Glamour.

This story originally appeared on: Glamour - Author:Madeline Hirsch