Colloidal photonic crystals doped with luminescent semiconductor nanocrystals are prepared here by a layer-by-layer deposition technique. This method, which involves the consecutive electrostatic adsorption of polyelectrolyte and nanocrystals such as CdTe onto submicrometer-sized polystyrene latex globules (see Figure), is described as being very Versatile and can be extended to the fabrication of either optically active or passive shells of different thickness.