Trichomes can be found on the surfaces of the leaves, stems, and other organs of many angiosperm plants. Plant trichomes are commonly divided into two classes: glandular trichomes and non-glandular trichomes. Glandular trichomes produce large quantities of specialized natural compounds of diverse classes and are regarded as ‘chemical factories’ due to their impressively efficient biosynthetic capacities. This efficiency makes glandular trichomes an excellent experimental system for the elucidation of both the biosynthesis and the mechanisms of regulation of natural product pathways. The development of various -omics techniques has greatly accelerated experimental procedures that are typically used in combination with trichome studies. The purpose this review is to provide an introduction to the methods and technologies used for the investigation of glandular trichomes, to summarize current progress in the field, and to highlight the potential applications of trichome studies in metabolic engineering using the strategies of synthetic biology.