デパコス

• 読み: デパコス
• ローマ字: depakosu
• 漢字の分解: From デパート (department store) + コスメ (cosmetics) → department store cosmetics
• 発音: /de.pa.ko.sɯ/

意味

Department store cosmetics; high-end luxury makeup brands sold at department store beauty counters.

デパコス is a portmanteau of デパート (department store) + コスメ (cosmetics) and refers to prestige beauty brands like Dior, Chanel, NARS, and MAC that are sold at department store counters. It is contrasted with ドラコス (drugstore cosmetics). The term is fundamental to Japanese beauty culture, where the デパコス vs ドラコス distinction is a primary way people categorize and discuss beauty products.

例文

1. ボーナス出たからデパコスで自分にご褒美買った。
2. デパコスのリップって発色が全然違うよね。
3. 初めてのデパコスはMACのリップスティックだったな。

使い方ガイド

場面: beauty, shopping, social media, friends

トーン: aspirational, everyday in beauty contexts

正しい言い方

• デパコスとドラコス、どっち派？ (Are you a department store cosmetics or drugstore cosmetics person?)
• デパコスは高いけどやっぱり質がいい。 (Department store cosmetics are expensive but the quality really is better.)

避ける言い方

• 年配の方に「デパコス」は通じないかも — 「デパートの化粧品」と言い換える (Older people may not understand デパコス — say デパートの化粧品 instead)

よくある間違い

• Thinking デパコス refers to any expensive cosmetics — it specifically means brands sold at department store beauty counters

起源と歴史

Portmanteau of デパート (department store) + コスメ (cosmetics). Became common in beauty media and social media in the 2010s as online beauty reviews and YouTube made cosmetics discussion mainstream.

文化的背景

時代: 2010s mainstream adoption

世代: Primarily women in their teens to 40s

社会的背景: Middle to upper class, aspirational

地域メモ: Used across all of Japan. Department store beauty counters (Isetan, Takashimaya, etc.) are a central part of Japanese beauty culture.