The cosmetic industry is constantly trying to develop alternatives to chemical routes for synthesis because of an increased focus on environmental safety, sustainability, and increased awareness in the society regarding natural and chemical-free products. Biocatalysis shows a distinct advantage over the chemical route in terms of process simplification, quality of product, and reduction in waste formation. Lipases are the most commonly used enzymes for enzyme-catalyzed synthesis in the cosmetic industry because they have the ability to recognize a wide variety of substrates and catalyze a large number of reactions. The first half of the present article gives a brief overview of the role of biocatalysts in the synthesis of various cosmetic esters. The second half of the review points out the limitations of conventional biocatalytic synthesis of cosmetic esters and discusses the application of novel green techniques such as ultrasonication and microwave irradiation to address the drawbacks of the conventional enzymatic technique. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.