Cosmetics are used for a number of reasons ranging from improving personal appearance to giving a more youthful look. Unlike the paint and coatings industry, the cosmetic industry has to contend with a very un-model like substrate on which its products are used, namely the skin. This complicates both the formulation of the product from an aesthetic (feel) point of view and also from an optical approach. A typical cosmetic can thought of as consisting of several discrete components: pigment, film former, emollients, surfactant and solvent. The interactions of these components both with each other and when applied to the skin have a significant impact product performance. This talk will highlight several important optical effects, how these effects are quantified and what role they play in cosmetics.