Romantic and timeless, these are all the beauty secrets behind Frida Aasen’s Portofino wedding look

As a supermodel, Frida Aasen has probably had her makeup done hundreds (if not thousands) of times. But for her big day, she preferred to go pared back. “I wanted to highlight a natural type of beauty, nothing too overdone, rather, something simple and classic,” she says. With these words, Aasen recalls the beautiful, emotion-fuelled moments of her wedding. “For the first day at the boat party, I wanted to reference Brigitte Bardot. We went with volume in the hair and a bit more definition on the eye, whilst still keeping it fresh and light. I had a very light smokey brown for the shadow and I lined my waterline with a brown pencil," she explains.

Kelly McClain was the makeup mastermind behind the looks, an artist Aasen regularly works with on all things beauty. “For the wedding day, Kelly and I wanted something more romantic and we knew I would stay in the look for quite some time, with very hot weather. This meant we focused a lot on a great base for the skin and also a little baby liner and lash to keep focus on the eye.” But the work put into a great base starts early, which meant that the treatments pre-wedding were key to achieving the perfect look on the special day itself. “I did LED therapy and hyaluronic acid facials beforehand. I also tried to stay out of the sun and hydrate enough to keep my skin glowing,” she notes.

Related: “Tommy’s speech had everyone teary-eyed”: Norwegian supermodel Frida Aasen on having the Portofino wedding of her dreams

“Skincare-wise, my skin is very sensitive, so I try to stick with gentle treatments without extractions. I especially like the hyaluronic facials as it gives the skin a nice plumping effect. Closer to the wedding day, I stuck with my usual routine and the entire week before I barely wore any makeup, which was nice to give the skin rest.”

Come the day of the wedding, then a whole new level of preparation started. “Look-wise, I started with the dress as I found that first, and then we worked [on] everything else around it. Kelly and I started off prepping the skin with the 111 Skin Subzero de Puffing Energy Face mask and eye patches. She used microcurrent therapy treatment to stimulate the face muscles and then used LED therapy to brighten the complexion.

"After that, we used cryo sticks and a jade face roller to stimulate the lymphatic system and bring out the contours of the face. For the lips, we used NuFace to stimulate and plump them for a fuller look and then proceeded with a lip scrub, Magic Serum, Magic Cream and Magic Lip Oil by Charlotte Tilbury."

Speaking of, Charlotte Tilbury was the main character when it came to the makeup and skincare for the day, with McClain using all Tilbury products for the look, everything from the Magic skincare line to the wands and bronzes. With her top three products being: the Beautiful Skin Foundation, the Film Star Bronze and Glow and the Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder.

“My favourite part of the makeup was the romantic eye Kelly created, I'm always a big fan of a winged liner,” says Aasen happily, “and for the gorgeous lips we used Lip Cheat in iconic Nude and the Pillow Talk lipstick.”

As for future brides, Aasen has her fair share of tips to offer up. “ Skincare is key – creating a flawless base starts with a good skincare preparation and routine. To achieve that natural glowy look, prep your skin with a hydrating face and neck mask like 111skin before applying a rich moisturiser. I used the Magic Cream by Charlotte Tilbury which has bio-nymph peptide, aloe vera, vitamins C & E, rose-hip oil and hyaluronic acid in it to soothe and repair dry skin.”

Hairwise, Alexandre Reboul was the artist behind the dreamy locks and was also responsible for prepping the hair beforehand. “Alexandre gave me the macadamia line by Belmakosmetik France to make the hair stronger and healthier in the weeks leading up to the wedding. So I would use their shampoo and everyday mask. For the wedding day, he used recovery curly by Belmakosmetik France to give the hair body and protect it from the heat and humidity in the Italian summer. Finally, to fix and set the hairstyle he used an ecological hairspray and argan oil to give shine and softness, both also by Belmakosmetik France.”

Finally, no major moment is complete without a scent to mark it forever. Aasen's partner Tommy wore Terre d’Hermes. “It’s the cologne he wore the first time we met and he wanted to remember the moment," she smiles. While the bride herself wore Elie Saab Le Parfum In White, as the "romantic scent matched the magic of the dress."