Hello all!

My name is Lara, I'm a 20 year old from the land of the long white cloud, New Zealand. I currently live in Auckland which is the biggest city in NZ, and in June this year, I ventured overseas of the first time! So far I have seen Denmark, Austria, Germany, Czech Republic and London.. and I can't wait to see more!

I work as an FX makeup artist, as well as a face and body painter. My job ranges from painting butterflies on children's faces to making people looking like they've lost half of their faces, which is hard work, but pretty fun. Halloween is one of my favourite times of the year, almost purely for all of the fun I have doing makeups. I am pretty passionate about all forms of art; I enjoy sculpting, painting, molding, casting .. so if you like art we will definitely get along.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

A lovely friend of mine who I flatted with for a while from Germany used to go to Couchsurfing meetups each week in Auckland, and she always came back with an interesting story, and met a lot of people! A huge part of my job as a make-up artist is meeting and talking to people so I'm always down for a good yarn too.

Interests

I've been playing the ukulele on and off for the last 10 years, but I'm a bit rusty now. I'd really like to learn piano in the future too!

I have worked as a full-time baker in a cafe, so I love making food, and also eating food. I have a definite sweet tooth, which is proving to be quite dangerous so far in Europe. I also worked in a Garden centre for 2 years and so know a bit about growing food and flowers, although living in a flat in NZ means I can no longer do this! I firmly believe home-grown fruit always tastes better than the stuff you get from a supermarket :)

• arts
• culture
• body art
• festivals
• dining
• gardening
• flowers
• painting
• piano

Music, Movies, and Books

Supernatural, Heroes, Firefly, Flight of the Concords, House, Dexter, Dr Robot, The Walking Dead, Fullmetal Alchemist etc.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Been on stage in front of thousands of people at the World Bodypaint Festival!

What I Can Share with Hosts

I was born and raised in New Zealand, so I can share a lot about life and culture living there. If you have any interest in learning about FX makeup, painting, lifecasting, propmaking, sculpting etc I am more than happy to help you out. I even have a few paints with me, so if we have a night free you could try a little face painting :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

New Zealand