Concept

Make radiance a badge of honour for your skin.

Turn relaxation into a force for beauty. Discover the new AQ.

DECORTE AQ’s mission is to unlock the potential of each and every woman and bring out their own unique beauty and elegance.

ＡＱ（Absolute Quality）,
It is now 27 years since AQ’s début in 1990. AQ is the beautiful fruit of years of dialogue with the skin and minds of women and the devotion of unparalleled wisdom, technology, and passion for cosmetics.

It’s the ultimate in relaxation, resonating both in the skin and mind. Based on the concept of holistic beauty, AQ has taken a step further into the intricate workings of the mind to focus on skin responsiveness.

DECORTE comes from the French word décoration meaning a decoration or medal. This name reflects our dedication to bringing out your inner beauty and making you even more radiant. The new AQ brings you relaxation and makes radiance a badge of honour for your skin.

Absolute Radiant Skin Leaving your skin radiant and full of vitality

In these modern times filled with excessive internal and external stress,
the new AQ seeks to become touch the subtleties of the mind.
Integrating a pleasing fragrance and texture with excellent skincare effects,
our products evoke a blissful sense of love for your skin,
while awakening the potential for beauty that lies deep within.
That beauty is a firmness and suppleness that comes from
within and a radiance that seems to glow from inside, full of vitality.

Refining skin sensitivity: the "Absolute Formula" found only in AQ

"When I’m relaxed, my skincare routine seems to be more effective."
"My skin is more vibrant and beautiful when I’m less stressed."
Every woman has noticed this. We focused on the mechanisms behind this phenomenon.

The result was a unique approach that refines the "skin sensitivity"
that beauty requires. When the skin is relaxed, it has a greater sensitivity,
and is best equipped to be at its most beautiful.
To create this state, we make effective use of relaxation
to bring your skin the ultimate in radiant beauty.
With specially-selected rare ingredients and special formulas and production methods
using COSME DECORTÉ's superior technology,
AQ transforms relaxation and the joy of skincare into beauty.

Give your skin the royal treatment
with products that provide the ultimate skincare performance.

The most important thing to us is the instinctive pleasure felt by the skin and the mind alike.
In addition to outstanding skincare effects achieved by cutting-edge research, development and technology*,
we seek to create just the right fragrance and textures to enhance those effects.

From the moment you touch one of our products,
you'll feel a sense of comfort as you are surrounded by the delicate fragrance.
As you apply the product to your skin, the rich texture will feel as if it is melting into your soul.
The product is absorbed perfectly, as if your skin has been longing to drink it in.
And the radiance you see as soon as you apply
it will leave you full of anticipation about what your skin will look like tomorrow.

Experience AQ – each time you touch one of our products, each time you see its effects,
your love for your skin will grow deeper. * Within COSME DECORTÉ.

*At the cosmetics descorte.

AQ is formulated with carefully selected and highly refined beauty agents.

Mucuna birdwoodiana stem extract

A special ingredient carefully selected from time-honoured plants. Targets the skin’ s latent ability to regenerate as well as emotional mechanisms that reawaken beauty, this ingredient is used in all AQ products for its ability to improve skin responsiveness.

Mucuna birdwoodiana stem extract and glycerin (moisturiser)

White birch water

A composite ingredient composed of the sap of the white birch, a rare ingredient rich in natural minerals and amino acids which can only be harvested for 4 weeks during the snow melt, and an extract which concentrates the effects of white birch bark.

* White birch water (betula platyphylla japonica juice and birch extract) and glycerin (moisturiser)

A soothing scent accented by the elegant fragrance of night-blooming cereus.

A refreshing yet deep floral woody scent accented by the "mysterious blossom", the night-blooming cereus, said to only bloom once a year on a summer’s night.

Design Concept

Our packaging has an elegant, engraved appearance that express the modern woman in abstract form. The gentle, beautiful curves of the containers represent the form of the body, and the "eye" shape as seen from above evokes the determination of modern women. The surface is decorated with a pattern resembling crystals and cut diamonds, expressing both boldness and luxury at once.

Art Director
Marcel Wanders

See profile>

Product List

新AQ、誕生。

ABSOLUTE RADIANCE ひとりひとりの肌と心へ輝きの勲章を
DECORTÉ最高峰のスキンケア。

The relationship between happiness factors and the skin, revealed.

A badge of radiance for the skin and
mind. Introducing the new AQ.

“Happiness factors” that lie within beauty and the
innate ability of the skin of each and every individual
to “revive”.
Focusing on the “relationship between beautiful skin
and the happiness of the mind,” AQ’s unique
“integrated beauty” has evolved.

Happiness signals that pulsate as the skin is softened
and deep moisture instantly blends into the skin.
Plump skin brimming with resilience and tone.
For radiantly glossy skin suffused with transparency.

Skin so dazzling it seems to be emitting light and the
ultimate soothing experience that soothes even the
mind made possible through the combination of
dermatological science and cutting edge technologies.
Coming together to mutually enhance and create a
radiance overflowing with vitality.

ABSOLUTE FORMULA

The “Absolute Formula”, AQ’s uncompromising commitment to craftsmanship, with carefully selected
ingredients, a meticulous formula, and unique manufacturing method.

Skincare that makes you feel relaxed and believe in a beauty that is yours alone.
Converting happiness that cherishes the skin into beauty so that you can always feel positive and proud.

INGREDIENTS

Champaca Extract

Champaca flower extract developed through joint research with a world-renowned botanical research institute. An ingredient that represents the overflowing happiness made possible by AQ skincare.

* Champaca extract (champaca flower extract)(moisturizing)

White Mucuna
Extract

Carefully selected for its powers from among plants legendary since ancient times. An ingredient that serves as the root for honing skin responsiveness, with a focus on the mechanisms of the “mind” that awaken beauty and the innate ability of the skin to “revive”.

* White mucuna extract (Mucuna birdwoodiana extract) (moisturizing)

White Birch

Water

A compound ingredient consisting of rare white birch sap that is rich in natural minerals and amino acids and can only be harvested in the four weeks when the snow begins to melt, and an extract packed with the effects of white birch bark.

* White birch water* (white birch sap / white birch bark extract) (moisturizing)

“AQ EXTRA PROTECTION”, “AQ BRIGHTENING EMULSION”, “AQ BRIGHTENING LOTION”, and “AQ BRIGHTENING CREAM” contain white birch sap / white birch extract.

Sandalwood

Extract

Utilized since ancient times as a fragrant wood that emits a mystical, pure, sweet scent, this extract is derived from precious sandalwood that can only grow in certain environments.

* Sandalwood extract (sandalwood extract) (moisturizing)

Chondroitin Sulfate

Gives the skin a vibrant resilience.

Alginic Acid

Protects the skin from stress associated with dryness.

Proteoglycan

Gives the skin vitality.

Double peptide

Two types of “peptides” consisting of multiple amino acids bound together.

TECHNOLOGY

AQ’s unique penetration technology that delivers ingredients instantly throughout the stratum corneum

FLEX FUSION OLEIN CAPSULE

A flexible delivery capsule that instantly delivers beauty ingredients regards of skin type or condition of the skin.

• Alginic acid (Algin) / Proteoglycan (Soluble proteoglycan) / Double peptide (Palmitoyl pentapeptide-4 / Hydrolyzed collagen) / Chondroitin sulfate (Sodium chondroitin sulfate) / Glycerin (moisturizing) * Photographs for illustrative purposes.

SCENT

A blissful “scent” that soothes and relaxes the mind.

A fresh floral musky scent featuring champaca, Queen of the Night, and
magnolia, suffused with a pure elegance.

Champaca

Queen of the Night

Magnolia

Sandalwood

DESIGN

A modern, sophisticated, elegant design.

5 Elements of Radiance

PatternA flower-like delicate crystal cut

Eye-shapeA gaze that speaks to the will of each and every individual

WaistAn elegantly cinched form

Crease-twistThe spiral of a carefree spirit

White pearl & SilverBright radiance that emits an aura

The container with its gentle sloping curves was inspired by the lines
of the body, while the “shape of the eye” as seen from above speaks
to the will of those living in these modern times.

The surface features designs inspired by crystal and diamond etching
for a bold yet luxurious look.

Art Director Profile

Marcel Wanders

Born in Holland in 1963. Marcel is a globally renowned product and interior designer and art director based in Amsterdam.

He crafts designs for clients ranging from individual clients to top global brands such as Alessi, Baccarat, Bisazza, Christofle, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, and Louis Vuitton. Rooted in his mission to “create an environment of love, live with passion, and make our most exciting dreams come true”, Marcel’s creations are filled with a spirit of adventure and whimsy (he is at times called a “maverick of the design world”), lifting the spirits of those who look upon them, bringing hope and enjoyment.

Within Japan, he has been serving as the art director of DECORTÉ from 2010 to the present.