A novel fatty acid ester having the general formula R1—COOR2 wherein R1 and R2 are hydrocarbon groups derived from a branched fatty acid and an alcohol, respectively. R1 is derived from a branched fatty acid which has been refined from a commercially available acid to give a product with a high concentration of monobranched fatty acids and a low concentration of polybranched fatty acids. The use of the ester derived from the refined fatty acid is found to be particularly useful in personal care compositions, for example as an emollient.