MONTEGO BAY, St James - MONTEGONIAN Shani Dawes stood in awe after professional make-up artist Daniel de la Torre of L'Oréal had completed his work on her face.

The transformation, she said, was unbelievable.

"To be honest I was nervous at first, as I've never had my make-up done by a professional make-up artist," she told the Observer West. "Seeing everyone's reaction, I got anxious, but when I looked in the mirror I screamed and hugged him (de la Torre). I could not believe what I saw."

Dawes was among the scores of females who on Sunday flocked the cosmetics section of Fontana Pharmacy at Fairview, Montego Bay, to get their make- up professionally applied by de la Torre.

The make-up artist was quite the comedian, as he entertained the ladies with jokes while he effortlessly transformed faces, leaving the females in amazement.

"I was 14 [years old] when I first started playing with make -up," he told the Observer West. "I did all the girls' make -up at school, charged them $10 and $20, even my mom became obsessed with me doing her make-up," said de la Torre.

The Puerto Rican, who grew up in Miami, has worked with designers such as Louis Vuitton, and models for various commercials and photo shoots.

He was recruited by L'Oréal and now does make-up classes as well.

"I consider myself more than a make-up artist, I get a high out of doing make-up."

"The purpose of having de la Torre at Fontana was the culmination of a week-long tour to let people know how to do make-up, as well as to inform people about L'Oréal," explained Andreen Bennett, the marketing manager for Pioneer Manufacturing Distribution Company, the distributor for L'Oréal products.