by ANGELA ALLEN Staff Writer

Making up a fresh-faced teen-ager presents a bigger challenge for Peter Lamas than flushing out Cindy Crawford's professional cheekbones.

Teens often do battle with their skin, and for makeup to appear flawless and natural, skin must be in great shape. If anyone can make uppity skin look smooth, turning raw material into polished beauty, Lamas is your man.

During a visit this week in Vancouver promoting his Web site, beautywalk.com, we challenged him to "make over" Megan Chicks, a 16-year-old junior at Lewis and Clark High School in Vancouver.

Operating with the Latin energy of pop star Ricky Martin, Lamas is a veteran makeup expert. For 17 years he shaped Jackie Onassis' hair and angular bone structure into distinction. He works magic on the faces of Victoria Secret models and such stars as Sharon Stone (blotchy skin) and Diana Ross (bug eyes).

"She has not-so-great features," Lamas says of the former Supremes diva. But, he adds, a well-done makeup job makes the most of her bone structure, as it can for the plainest among us.

As high-profile as he is among the rich, beautiful and famous, Lamas' world is not all glitz and glamour. At 56 years old, he's keener on women taking pride in their looks than he is on creating illusions of beauty. He takes time to help battered women with makeovers as they move from shelter back to the real world. On a less dramatic level, he encourages teen-agers and young women to learn to wear makeup in order to have more confidence in expressing themselves.

Makeup and self-esteem

"Young women are intimidated by makeup," he says. "People will take you more seriously when you look well-groomed. It gives you a little sophistication, a little maturity."

If nothing else, a little lipstick and some mascara on the upper lashes will get a girl through most anything, he says.

Lamas has an athletic daughter who prefers nose-piercing to eye shadow. Though he calls himself a tolerant dad, he urges her to wear a bit of makeup. At the same time, he encourages experimentation ("I don't know why they torture their bodies, though"), and by 13 or 14, he says most girls are playing around with makeup.

"The trick to makeup is practice. Fool around. It's not permanent, it's not a tattoo. Go crazy, even it looks clownish."

In the end, no matter what age we are, he says, "Less is best. It isn't how much you put on, but how you put it on."

Makeup's purpose isn't to hide flaws, though it can help, but instead, to enhance the face's best or strongest features. Usually, the choice is between the lips and eyes.

Some people, such as Megan Chicks in today's photos, have attractive enough features to choose either, he adds.

On most days, Lamas says, "I'm partial to eyes. The eyes are the first thing that create a image."

Before he moves there, however, he deals with the skin and complexion, and with teen-agers in the midst of physical change, he often does touch-ups. "Makeup will be noticeable if you have poor quality skin."

A model with Immortelle Modeling and Acting Agency in Vancouver, Megan is luckier than many teens. "She has very good skin for her age," Lamas says.

He encouraged Megan to concentrate on her forehead when cleansing. The hairline can create more oils. He advises everyone, no matter how young, to wear a moisturizer with sun protection of SPF 15 to prevent skin damage: "Eighty percent of skin damage happens before we're 20. It's cumulative."

After priming her face with moisturizer he suggests a teen use a moisturizing tint rather than a heavier foundation he moved to "correct" the undereye area with a concealer. "Don't use a pink undertone in a concealer. A yellow counteracts blue or dark circles."

The point is to look healthy and rested.

An eye pencil in dark brown or charcoal can fill in the base of the eyelid to show definition. Lamas used tiny strokes, rather than heavy, noticeable lines. Mascara goes on the top lid only, unless the lashes are very pale, then a touch on the lower lid can help. A light pastel eye shadow is perfect. No flashy blues. They're as out as a deep tan.

For lips, he uses Chapstick or lip balm as the undercoat. Both keep lipstick on longer, as well as fill in the cracks of the lips. A gloss on the outside of the lips make them look fuller.

A cream blush goes underneath the cheekbones to accentuate them. Dab it on before spreading it, he advises.

Lamas handles hair without a brush, but armed with a blow-dryer, giving it height, volume and body with his hands as he works the hair outward. "The look is created from the root. It's like building a building."

(Secret: In a photo shoot the back of the head is left undone, and sometimes the dress is pinned.)

The hair isn't called the crowning glory in vain. "A bad haircut can wreck everything," Lamas says. "It's distracting. The hair frames the face, and when the frame is bad, everything else is lost."

Lamas, who came to New Yok from Cuba when he was 18, used to operate salons where a soup-to-nuts makeover with instruction and a color-by-numbers chart cost $6,500. Even as much as it may help to revamp your looks with the top in the business, makeup should bring out your personality, not make it, Lamas says.

Self-esteem grows with confidence in appearance, and if women lack that attribute, it's often because they don't take time for themselves, he says. "They're thinking of their families, their job, the groceries, the minutiae ... I love women. But I want them to look like women."

SOME TIPS

• A light moisturizing tint is fine for teen-agers. Foundation can look too harsh.



• Blush adds definition to the cheekbones, giving the face shape, balance and more interest.



• Strokes of an eye pencil define the eyes. Eyeliner is harsher and more obvious.



• Lamas uses a few brushes, this one to define the lips. Lipstick stays on longer, too.

TIPS FROM THE MEASTRO PETER LAMAS

• For a quick-fix on a blemish: Wash face thoroughly. Purchase a septic stick (men use these to stop bleeding after shaving). Apply it to the flare-up. Saturate a cotton ball with Visine. Apply cotton ball to skin and hold for about a minute. It will remove from 60 to 100 percent of redness. Then dab on some Preparation H. It takes out the swelling. "Trust me. It works," says makeup expert Peter Lamas. "Some models come in looking awful. They smoke and drink. I'm stern with them, but you still need a quick fix sometimes."



• Use a concealer for under-eye circles. Lamas uses a yellow base to erase the blue.



• Use Chapstick or lip balm under your lipstick. Chapstick fills in the cracks and give a sheen to the lipstick.



• Get your eyebrows shaped professionally. Don't pluck from the top (if a hair is sprouting from the top of the brow, snip it with scissors). Lighten eyebrows professionally if they contrast too much with your hair. Fill them in with a pencil or with powder if they're too light. Use a child's soft toothbrush to brush them. The eyebrows frame the eyes and without a flattering shape, your eyes will be lost.



• A few makeup brushes are a good investment. Lamas prefers combination squirrel and pony hair. Sable, he says, is overrated.



• Don't invest a lot of money in makeup. "Foundation is worth spending money on," Lamas says. "The rest doesn't matter how much it costs."



• Don't put a lot of confidence in makeup technicians who do in-store "makeovers." L.A., New York, and perhaps Chicago have a number of artists trying to break into the big time business, Lamas says, so you'll likely get better results in those areas.

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