With productions such as "Lost" and "Pearl Harbor" under his belt, makeup and hair stylist James Sartain has made the eyes shine and skin glow on some of Hollywood's most recognizable faces. Here are some of his secrets.

Q. What kind of brushes do you use?

A. My favorites are Shu Uemura, Trish McEvoy (both at Neiman Marcus) and a few from MAC (at Macy's and the MAC store in Ala Moana).

Q. What's your biggest self-indulgence?

A. A massage or shopping for another pair of jeans by Diesel, True Religion or Chip & Pepper.

Q. What's your favorite hobby?

A. Spending time with my family, especially my nieces and nephews, and two dogs, a Maltese (Gigi) and a pug (Ping).

Q. What difference has HDTV made to your job?

A. HDTV has raised the industry standards across the board. We no longer treat TV as a small-screen format. We strive more than ever for big-screen quality.

Q. What has been a highlight in your career?

A. I always think the best is yet to come. A few highlights: I've been personally requested by such high-profile clients as Tia Carrere, a Liz Claiborne fragrance campaign, music videos for Snoop Dogg and Jack Johnson, and work all over Asia for Alex McLeod and Phil Keoghan of "Amazing Race."

Q. Who has been your most difficult client?

A. A professional makeup artist would never answer that question. What goes on in the trailer stays in the trailer.

Q. Why are you in Hawai'i?

A. I'm extremely proud to be based in Hawai'i, where so much is happening that's really international.

Q. Makeup "philosophy."

A. It's important to listen and be open to what someone in your chair is telling you. They know themselves.

James Sartain, above, always travels with his favorite tools, some of which are shown below: Aveda lipstick in Rambutan and lip glazes in Tangerine and Claret (Heaven on Earth, Aveda shops and salons), Tweezerman eyebrow tweezers (Blush, Ampy's, Hino's, Sephora), Bioré Balancing Moisturizer (drugstores), Nars cream blush (Neiman Marcus, Sephora), Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat concealer (Neiman Marcus), Dermalogica Faceblock SPF 30 (Heaven on Earth and other select spas), Stila color palettes for which he chooses his own colors (Sephora), Shu Uemura eyelash curler (Neiman Marcus, Sephora), Evian spray (drugstores), powder puffs, brushes by Shu Uemura (eyebrow/eyeliner on the left, highlighter on right, sold at Neiman Marcus) and Nars concealer brush (center, sold at Neiman Marcus, Sephora).

Reach Paula Rath at paularath@aol.com.