Etymology From French cosmétique, from Ancient Greek κοσμητική (kosmētikḗ, “the art of dress and ornament”), from κοσμητικός (kosmētikós), an adjective of κοσμέω (kosméō, “to order, to arrange, to rule, to adorn, to equip, to dress, to embellish”).
1
Preparations applied externally to change or enhance the beauty of skin, hair, nails, lips, and eyes.
Near-synonyms: makeup, make-up; beauty products
2
The way something looks; superficial appearance.
Near-synonym: cosmesis
In the great fishbowl that we're doing everything in it's kind of unfortunate, but the cosmetics of the thing are more important than what's accomplished — in a great many ways.2004, Lewis Sorley, Vietnam Chronicles: The Abrams Tapes, 1968-1972, page 194:
cosmetics
noun
Etymology From French cosmétique, from Ancient Greek κοσμητική (kosmētikḗ, “the art of dress and ornament”), from κοσμητικός (kosmētikós), an adjective of κοσμέω (kosméō, “to order, to arrange, to rule, to adorn, to equip, to dress, to embellish”).