Lleig
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
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Project Description
The Lleig project (‘Lleig’ means ‘Ugly’ in Catalan) presents four cosmetic products that start from a single plant, thus claiming its waste. The four products are a soap, a moisturizer, a juice and a dehydrated skin. Focused on the action of beautifying, the traditional dressing table does not have a water intake. Instead, the proposed ritual is inspired by the thermal baths. For that reason, Lleig's dressing table has a bowl, a jug and a towel.
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Description of the project
Summary
Tons of fruits and vegetables are thrown away for not passing the aesthetic criteria. Although the appearance does not determine the nutritional quality of food, it is used as a marketing strategy.
The Lleig project (‘Lleig’ means ‘Ugly’ in Catalan) presents four cosmetic products that start from a single plant, thus claiming its waste. The four products are a soap, a moisturizer, a juice and a dehydrated skin. Focused on the action of beautifying, the traditional dressing table does not have a water intake. Instead, the proposed ritual is inspired by the thermal baths. For that reason, Lleig's dressing table has a bowl, a jug and a towel. Offering total freedom over the space where you prefer to perform the ritual.
The project not only tries to repurpose “ugly foods” by turning them into cosmetics; it also tries to get to the root of the problem and raise awareness of the real reason why there’s so much food waste: our idea of beauty.
Lleig is also an attempt of rethinking the way we take care of ourselves and our bodies. That’s why Lleig does not have a mirror.
Key objectives for sustainability
With Lleig I want to raise awareness about the worldwide issue of food waste, as well as to convince people that the beauty canons we established are part of the reason we waste so much food. My main focus is to reduce the amount of fruits and vegetables that are being discarded.
Working with companies that help decrease food waste helped me gain perspective on how much food is being thrown away and understand the criteria being used to discard it. All ingredients required to make the cosmetics can be sourced anywhere, but my goal is to use foods that are being discarded for their image, in order to make sure they don't go to waste.
In terms of raising awareness, I tried to keep the concept of Lleig as simple as possible so that the point could get across more clearly. I thought the most ingenious way to repurpose ugly foods was to make beauty products out of them; this way was I not only tackling the issue of food waste, but also disproving our current idea of beauty so that we stop judging the validity of fresh foods just by their image.
The packaging is as sustainable as I could make it. The containers are made of white clay, therefore they can be refilled. Also, it's important to note that all the ingredients are widely accessible, so anyone could make the products at home with foods that they would rather throw away.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
Lleig attempts to rethink the way we take care of ourselves and our bodies. That’s why I didn’t include a mirror in the vanity set, because our beauty should start from within. Each element of Lleig is related to a different type of beauty. There’s internal beauty (the inside of our physical body), essential beauty (our conscience; the idea of ourselves) and external beauty (our appearance). You can’t have external beauty without inner and essential beauty.
In terms of art direction, I chose to reflect purity and simplicity through the colors and shapes of the different parts of the set. I wanted each object to exude calmness. I wanted to make it clear that when doing the ritual with Lleig’s cosmetics, we shouldn’t think about our external beauty, but about what each product is giving us and how it’s contributing to our well-being and internal beauty.
What matters most is the goal of the project (repurposing foods and changing our beauty canons), so I tried to reflect that through the ritual.
Key objectives for inclusion
If humans hadn’t created beauty canons for almost everything around us, we wouldn’t care if the apple we’re eating has some spots. That’s why I tried to talk about beauty and our perception of it in my project. To change our judgement towards the food we consume, we must first address how we judge ourselves. We don’t usually link beauty to health, and with Lleig I want to make that happen. I created products that aim to enhance one’s beauty by using fruits/vegetables that were once discarded for being ugly.
My project not only tries to repurpose “ugly foods” by turning them into cosmetics; it also tries to get to the root of the problem and raise awareness of the real reason why there’s so much food waste: our idea of beauty.
I brought this project to life while quarantined, so all of it has been made from scratch in my house. I tried to keep a sincere approach. I have not hidden parts of the process, nor have I tried to make it look prettier. I wanted every imperfection to show because that is what made this project beautiful.
I want us to start questioning beauty as we know it. Why do we label a spotted orange as imperfect when it tastes exactly the same as any other orange? We should apply this judgement to ourselves and stop excluding others for the way they look.
Innovative character
This project looks at beauty through a different lens. It wants to help people understand that beauty isn’t only external, and it gives them a method that focuses on taking care of their bodies from all possible perspectives.
Cleansing, hydration, perfume and nourishment come together to create a new way of achieving beauty.
The vanity is inspired by Ancient Greek thermal baths, which were a place where people went to purify themselves.
Another innovative aspect of Lleig is the way it gives a second life to the discarded foods. In order to demonstrate that these foods are of quality despite their imperfections, Lleig makes them be the main ingredient of a whole skincare routine. This way, all the cosmetic properties of these foods can translate into the person that is using them.
Through this experience, my project wishes to make people judge fresh foods by their quality instead of their looks.
