There’s no denying the cast of Home And Away always look stunning, largely thanks to Laura Vazquez.
Leading the show’s glam squad, the former actress starred on the show in her teens and is now the brains behind some of Summer Bay’s best looks.
She’s worked on the likes of Sam Frost, Sophie Dillman and Courtney Miller, and we can’t decide who we’re more jealous of.
Sam Frost is just one of the Summer Bay favourites Laura Vazquez works with every day as a makeup artist.
(Credit: Instagram)Laura revealed to TV WEEK what it’s really like in the Home And Away makeup chair, plus a few behind-the-scenes secrets that left us in stitches.
Speaking over the phone in the midst of Sydney’s lockdown, Laura admits she enjoyed the break at first but is “antsy” to get back to the Summer Bay routine.
“I miss my Home and Away family. We’re with each other all hours of the day and we’re very close, so you miss everyone,” she says.
During production, Laura leads a team of four other makeup artists tasked with making sure every cast member looks camera-ready.
For Laura, that means waking up at 4:30am to be on set an hour later, so she can prepare for the first actor or actress in her chair at 6am.
“It’s a team effort,” she shares. “It’s a whole process and it’s teamwork from the start, from everyone from the producers to the cast.”
Speaking of the cast, Laura had nothing but nice things to say about the Aussie actors and actresses that pass through the makeup room every day.
She tells TV WEEK that she likes to keep their makeup light and natural to let the cast’s natural beauty shine through.
For fan favourites like Ziggy (Sophie Dillman) and Jasmine (Sam Frost), it’s all about enhancing what they already have.
“They’re from Summer Bay, they’re beachy girls… I like to keep them in something they could do themselves, not too made up,” Laura reveals.
“Most makeup the girls have is just foundation, mascara, a little bit of blush and a lip balm – that’s their staple makeup.”
Laura uses the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation on the girls for a light base, then adds touches of other products like blush and mascara.
It the past, the show has amped up the glamour, but Laura says fans have loved the shift towards more natural looks.
There’s plenty of love between Laura and the stunning actresses she dolls up every day.
(Credit: Instagram)“I always like to create something that’s popular now so young girls can recreate it, and it’s not hard to recreate,” she says.
Of course, that also makes it even more fun when she gets to really doll the cast up for a special event on the show.
For Bella’s (Courtney Miller) recent exhibition, Laura went all out for a few characters, including Bella.
“Courtney has got such beautiful skin, she’s just gorgeous so I don’t usually put a lot of makeup on her,” Laura says.
She chose an Audrey Hepburn-inspired look for Bella at the exhibition, and for Mackenzie (Emily Weir) Laura couldn’t go past a bold smokey eye.
Laura chose more glam looks for Sophie and Emily in a recent episode of Home And Away.
(Credit: Instagram)“It was Emily’s favourite makeup look in the whole time she’s been on Home And Away,” Laura reveals.
She also teases an exciting look coming up for Marilyn (Emily Symons), but won’t spill the details. We can’t wait to see what it is!
As for her relationships with the cast, it’s obvious that Laura is fast friends with just about everyone from Summer Bay.
“The makeup room is kind of the hub of the whole studio, it’s the place where everyone likes to hang out,” she laughs over the phone.
“Sam Frost will come in and get her makeup done, then in five minutes she’s back for a chat, then in another five minutes she’s back again.”
Everyone who works on Home And Away calls the cast and crew “one big family”, and within that family Laura holds the title of “mama bear”.
Stars will regularly drop in for a chat and a laugh with her, share their secrets or pull up a chair to hang out while she works.
It helps that she knows exactly what the cast do on the show – before she worked behind the scenes, Laura starred on the show for three years as Sarah Thompson.
“It was a highlight of my life being on Home And Away,” Laura says fondly.
“I enjoy being behind the scenes now, I enjoyed the time that I was in front of the camera. [Home And Away] is such a big part of my life and a special place in my heart.”
While Laura is happy behind the scenes these days, she’d never say never to a return cameo.
“If they ever ask me to come in and do a little thing with Alf – Ray Meagher was like my father on the show, and I have a good relationship with him to this day,” she says.
“I wouldn’t hesitate. I would do it.”
Laura says she feels so “blessed” to have been a part of the show for so long. But after so many years, she’s racked up a few awkward moments too.
A few years back she was on set while they were filming a huge scene with most of the cast when she made a hilarious blunder.
The cast and crew constantly stop in at the makeup room to hang out with Laura.
(Credit: Instagram)“I thought it was a break and I walked on set to do touch ups on Emily Symons,” Laura reveals.
“And she looked at me with her eyes wide open, and I thought ‘why is she looking at me like that’.”
That’s when Laura realised she’d walked right into the scene in the middle of filming!
“I literally got pulled by the arm off set by one of the assistant directors, then they called cut and everyone just started laughing,” she laughs.
Despite being “so embarrassed”, Laura laughed it off with the rest of the cast as just another Home And Away moment she’ll never forget.
