Abstract: An aqueous composition comprising, in addition to water: (a) one or more surfactant materials selected from polyoxyalkylene condensate derivatives of lanolin or a lanolin derivative; and (b) a lipid component comprising one or more lipid materials, especially lanolin or a lanolin derivative, present as particles emulsified by the said one or more lanolin-derived surfactant materials and having a median particle size of less than about 5 &mgr;m, especially from 0.01 to 1 &mgr;m. The compositions have very good physical stability and are particularly useful as carriers for transdermal delivery of pharmaceutical actives to the human skin.