Meaning

noun a toiletry designed to beautify the body

adjective serving an esthetic rather than a useful purpose

adjective serving an aesthetic purpose in beautifying the body

originFrom French cosmétique, from Ancient Greek κοσμητική (kosmētikḗ, “the art of dress and ornament”), κοσμητικός (kosmētikós), from κοσμητής (kosmētḗs, “orderer, director, decorator”), from κοσμέω (kosméō, “to order, to arrange, to rule, to adorn, to equip, to dress, to embellish”), from κόσμος (kósmos, “order”). By surface analysis, cosmos + -etic.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0