Though there are a large number of differing cosmetics used for a variety of different purposes, all cosmetics are typically intended to be applied externally. 

Use of cosmetics continued into the Middle Ages, where the face was whitened and the cheeks rouged. during the later 16th century in the West.

Cosmetics have been in use for thousands of years. The absence of regulation of the manufacture and use of cosmetics, as well as the absence of scientific knowledge regarding the effects of various compounds on the human body for much of this time period.

Cosmetics are constituted from a mixture of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources or synthetically created ones.