French up-and-comer Astrid Bergès-Frisbey prepares to make a huge splash stateside in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

With her sparkling hazel eyes and modelworthy bone structure, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey looks every bit the part of a delicate ingenue. But this French actress is no fragile flower. “I grew up in the countryside riding horses, and I also ride every holiday in Spain, which is where I was born. It’s a big part of my life,” the starlet says.

The 25-year-old certainly needed to muster her inner tomboy to tackle the role of Syrena, a mystical mermaid, in her U.S. debut in this summer’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. “Working in water is so difficult,” explains Astrid, who spent up to twelve hours a day submerged during shooting. “But I liked having something very physical to do—you realize you’re strong. It’s a really good feeling.”

Of course, playing Syrena posed a major beauty challenge too. “My skin is very sensitive and was even more so when I was filming because of all the makeup and prosthetics I wore every day,” she says. To calm and soothe her reactive complexion, both on and off the set, she swears by Mario Badescu Cucumber Make-Up Remover Cream and Avène Thermal Spring Water. “For me, taking care of your skin is the most important step. You can cover it with all the makeup you have, and it’s still not as nice as beautiful skin,” she says. However, she happily admits to loving Benefit Cosmetics Benetint (“When you’re tired, this makes you look like you’ve slept for hours”) and Chanel liquid lipstick in Santal (“It’s the color of my natural lips”). In a twist of fate, her current nail-color obsession is none other than Chanel’s Black Pearl, which happens to share the same name as Captain Jack Sparrow’s ship in the Pirates series—perhaps a serendipitous sign that Astrid was destined to have this breakout career moment. “I’m just trying to enjoy every step of the journey,” she says.

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