Japanese beauty (aka J-beauty) is having a big moment right now, as consumers are discovering (or rediscovering, if you’re like me and was big on J-beauty years ago) the power of these Asian beauty formulas and rituals. In Japan, the skin-care market is highly competitive, but certain brands stand apart from the rest, and one is Decorté. Not only is it one of the most luxurious brands in the category, but the brand tells me it’s the best-selling luxury skin-care brand in Japan. Combining Eastern medicine with cutting-edge science, Decorté has dozens of A-list fans around the world.
I have tried some of the products over the years, but recently, I was able to try three together, layering them for enhanced results. Here, my review of the Intensive Revitalizing Emulsion Concentrated Conditioning Emulsion, Intensive Revitalizing Lotion All-day Plumping Moisture-Boosting Lotion and Intensive Regenerating Multi-Cream Advanced Formula Youth Restoring Face Cream, all from the brand’s AQ Meliority line.
My Thoughts on This J-Beauty Skin-Care Ritual
According to the brand, each formula in the AQ Meliority range is “saturated with at least 20 skin-transforming beauty actives; some considerably more.” Additionally, the products feature the brand’s patented liposome technology, which provides a unique delivery system for the proper ratio of ingredients to reach the skin where they need to go.
In this three-step routine, the first step is to apply the Intensive Revitalizing Emulsion Concentrated Conditioning Emulsion after cleansing. Think of this as your essence or hydrating toner, which will prepare your skin for what comes next. It flooded my skin with hydration and made it feel super soft. Next up is the Intensive Revitalizing Lotion All-day Plumping Moisture-Boosting Lotion, which is one of the brand’s best-selling products. It’s chock-full of high-performance plant actives, including Shirakaba water, which is “sourced from pristine Hokkaido white birch forests that only can be harvested for four weeks during the snow melt.” I love the silky texture and it layered perfectly with the Emulsion and no pilling or greasy residue. After just these two, my skin felt incredibly smooth and had that glass-like effect everyone is searching for these days.
The last step is the Intensive Regenerating Multi-Cream Advanced Formula Youth Restoring Face Cream, which comes in an opulent jar that anyone would want to display on their vanity. Containing a patented complex of 30 potent actives, it’s loaded with peptides and “powerhouse botanicals—Benifuki, Murasaki-Cha and White Mucuna extracts—that encourage cell renewal and regeneration. As a result, aging skin looks firmer, more lifted, and ultimately, younger. I was assuming this cream would be rich, but the texture absorbs easily and marries well with the Emulsion and Lotion.
As far as price goes, these products sit near the top of the luxury market—the Cream is at the pinnacle. I was gifted an exclusive set of these three products in mini sizes for me to test, but if you were to purchase the full sizes of each, you’re looking at a pretty penny. The Emulsion is priced at $280, the Lotion is $190 and the Cream is $1,000.
Another thing to note is the fragrance. A core element of the AQ Meliority collection is the aromatic, floral-woody scent, which highlights the magnolia flower. The fragrance is beautiful and was designed to add to the sensorial experience of using these products, but if you are sensitive to skin care with fragrance, it may be a bit too much.
For a limited time, NewBeauty readers can use code NEWBEAUTY20 for 20-percent off your order, excluding sets (one use per customer; offer expires November 17, 2025).
