The Decorté AQ range is based on the concept of holistic beauty and taking skincare a step further by examining the intricate workings of the mind to focus on the skin's responsiveness to products. When researching the AQ Brightening Range (AQ Brightening Emulsion, AQ Brightening Lotion and AQ Brightening Cream), Decorté uncovered new scientific data about what the contributing factors are for pigmentated skin and in particular how the body's stress response can affect the skin directly, leading to the production of "age spots", discolouration and poor texture and tone.

Decorté laboratories proved that stress manifests itself within the skin in various ways. Melanocytes are activated, which induce inflammation within the skin cells, which in turn encourages the skin's fat cells to release histamine. This disturbs normal skin cell turnover and leads to skin thickening, skin yellowing, dullness and spots. They also showed that as the skin cells age the proliferation of fat cells within the skin increases, meaning more histamine is present and more problems occur. In addition, they showed that stress causes the secretion of Corticotropin-releasing hormone CRH. This in turn causes the melanin production instruction factors in the skin cells to activate melanocytes, causing the production of excess melanin, and the development of age spots, which they already knew were exacerbated in turn by exposure to UV rays.

To combat these factors, the new Decorté AQ Brightening Range contains some specific natural ingredients which induce calmness within the skin and which positively regulate the metabolic environment within the skin, ensuring skin is vibrant, radiant, luminous and full of vitality: Magnolia Extract; Japanese Beautyberry Extract; Handroathus impetiginosus CP; GL Kojic Acid. Combined with core ingredients from the AQ skincare range Mucuna birdwoodiana, White birch water and Night Blooming Cereus they provide effective and caring solutions to the problem.

Extracted from the Japanese big leaf magnolia, it possesses an anti­inflammation, anti-aging, and "histamine" suppressing effect.

Has a suppressing effect on the melanin production instruction factors within the skin.

An ingredient which includes mainly handroanthus impetiginosus tree bark extract mixed with gold extract also suppresses melanin production instruction factors.

Kojic acid is a natural substance used in the fermentation process, this works inside melanocytes to stop the action of tyrosinase, an enzyme which promotes the production of melanin, and thereby inhibits the excessive production of melanin.

Extracted from the stem of the genus delivers skin radiance, awakening the responsiveness of the skin cells increasing the skin's natural ability to regenerate.

The sap of the white birch, which is rich in natural minerals and amino acids essential to the skin is only harvested for 4 weeks during the snow melt.

A refreshing yet calming mood-enhancing deep floral woody scent which relaxes the mind and has been shown to therefore increases the efficacy of the skincare.