Twice-Told Tale

The Student News Site of Lake Highland Preparatory School

Twice-Told Tale

Twice-Told Tale

The line between cruelty-free and ethical is blurry. For example, the brand behind the Benefit Brow Bar in Ulta, Benefit Cosmetics, claims to be cruelty-free, claiming, “All Benefit products undergo very strict tolerance tests using non-animal methods during the procedure of each product,” on its website. However, what the company fails to mention is that animal testing can occur after the product is created such as pre-market testing and post-market testing. The old status quo of whether a brand was cruelty-free or not was if it sold products in China, but since recent laws now let “general cosmetics” be imported into China without animal testing, the line has become even blurrier. Benefit Cosmetics’ hair dye and freckle remover fall under the category of “special cosmetics” and thus require animal testing. To bypass the confusion entirely, I recommend that you stick with brands that are undoubtedly cruelty-free. My favorite ethical brands are Native, E.L.F., Glossier, and Rare Beauty. 

Embrace the Beauty of Being Cruelty-Free

Delaney Bolstein, Editor-in-Chief September 15, 2023

Amidst the past decade's booming makeup and cosmetics industry, heightened even more so by the introduction of “beauty influencers,” a movement is growing alongside the industry: the cruelty-free movement....

(Above) My grandparents from my mother’s side helped raise my brother and me until I was six and he was three. Seven years prior, they had dropped everything and flown from Shanghai, China, to take care of us. At that point, they were already in their late-sixties, but family always comes first. Photo courtesy of Mr. Samuel Young.

Benefits of Being Bilingual

Serena Young, Co-Editor/Director of Advertising April 20, 2023

Languages open up doors to new worlds of meaning. But with the rise of AI, mastering a language may seem outdated to some. People forget the difference between languages is not only word-to-word translation...

(Above) The 2023 Paris Fashion Week began with a viral
collection from the fashion house, Schiaparelli, inspired
by the animals from the epic poem, “Dante’s Inferno.”
Though the designer used only faux fur, the feedback
has been polarizing, to say the least. Some critics,
such as model, Christie Brinkley, called the collection a,
“Huge faux-paw,” a play on the word, faux-pas, claiming
to glorify poaching. Others, including myself, believe
Schiaparelli’s work is a testament to how useless the
fur industry is. By creating hyper-realistic busts of
animals, the designer further justifies faux fur’s place
in the fashion industry. Photo courtesy of Filippo Flor.

Fake Fur Solves the Real Issue

Delaney Bolstein, Co-Editor/Director of Media March 10, 2023

There is almost nothing more divisive in the fashion industry than the use of fur. Fur shoes, fur coats, and fur hats can be bought at virtually every high-end fashion retailer; yet their sales accompany...

(Above) The property of Shalom Orlando is also the site of The Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Central Florida. The organization aims to combat anti-Semitism through history on prejudice and bigotry toward Jewish people. Kanye West has stated his support for Nick Fuentes, who has perpetuated a conspiracy theory denying the Holocaust, saying it was fabricated to advance Jewish interests. Denying an event that took the lives of countless Jewish people just perpetuates the hateful beliefs that first laid the groundwork for Hitler’s reign. Photo by Sarah Finfrock.

Silence is Compliance

Sarah Finfrock, Copy Editor/ Director of Photography February 2, 2023

In the wake of anti-Semitic comments from American rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, the silence is deafening. In public and on social media, I still see people listening to Ye’s music and promoting...

(Above) As I was apprehensive to start training in hip-hop, my studio and
team (shown above), helped me build up the courage to learn skills, as well
as perform on stage. The support that my studio shows while being onstage
is huge, with loud cheering and yelling. Also, other studios chime in with
this same encouragement, making dancing on stage and competing less nerve
wracking. After the first competition, I never doubted my ability in hip-hop,
and I continue to perform multiple pieces in that style. Photo courtesy of

Tremaine Dance.

Peer Pressure With Positive Outcomes

Rebecca Reif, Editor in Chief November 9, 2022

The first idea that comes to one’s mind when peer pressure is mentioned is a negative connotation; something like poor decisions will be made, or risky and dangerous actions will be taken. There are...

(Above) Partnering with the Humane Society, The Pet Alli-
ance of Greater Orlando helped rescue some of the 4,000

beagles taken from a large breeding facility, focused on

providing beagles for animal testing, in Virgina in Septem-
ber. Beagles are sought after for testing because of their

docile nature, and many rescues specialize in rescuing them.
Photo courtesy of the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando.

“Adopt Don’t Shop” Becomes the Law

Delaney Bolstein, Co-Editor October 26, 2022

On June 21, Orange County officials voted to ban the sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits. This occurred after increasing pressure from animal rights groups such as Best Friends and other Florida cities that...

(Above) My sister and I wore matching outfits to school
until second grade. This is when both of us voiced that
we would like to start expressing ourselves through our
own style and clothes. Before this time, our outfits were
always matching, whether it was actually the exact same
item of clothing, or by only having different colors of that item. Photo courtesy of Mrs. Jennifer Reif.

Seeing Double

Rebecca Reif, Editor in Chief October 4, 2022

One in every 42 children is born a twin. While being a twin may be rather uncommon, since around only 3.3% of births are twins, here at Lake Highland, 10% of the class of 2023 are composed of doubles....

(Above) The invisible illness manifests itself when it gets to the point of a patient crashing down, not being able to function in his or her normal state. A case representative of this idea was when I was admitted into the hosptial. For months since the start of school, I had been working over the present symptoms in my life. However, sometimes it gets to a point where medical intervention is needed. I was constantly hooked up to a new IV bag, my vitals were taken every four hours, and multiple specialists visited me to try to narrow down what was wrong, or if it were just a flare up of symptoms. Photo courtesy of Mrs. Jennifer Reif. Graphic courtesy of elleandtheautognome.wordpress.com.

The Invisible Illness

Rebecca Reif, Editor-in-Chief September 12, 2022

During high school students may feel invisible from time to time, but imagine being a student with a different type of invisibility. Invisible illnesses affect more people than one might think, since anyone...

(Above) Without the criticism our world constantly experiences on social media, our generation could start to be more open and accepting of our sense of self-expression. Our differences are what makes us who we are and makes us what we want to be.

Look Up

Arely Rubio, Staff April 7, 2022

Technology is a loaded word, compacted with cell phones, computers, TVs, cars, streaming, and more. What if we split it up? The word, “Tech” is world-renowned as simply an abbreviation of the word...

(Above) Compared to grocery stores, the growth of gardens and small rooftop farms in urban areas has provided areas where people can come together and connect with the earth as their source of food. These urban farms can fill-in gaps for low-income areas where there’s a lack of healthy foods, improving local food security and nutrition.

Organic Foods Sustain Past the Premium

Santiago Calderon, Editor-in-Chief March 21, 2022

You are walking into the supermarket, grocery list in hand, and start heading to the produce aisle. “Let’s start with bananas,” you may think. When looking at the options, you see two separate labels:...

(Above) Colleges are left with an important decision: require standardized testing or allow slight decreases in GPA performance in exchange for greater diversity and socioeconomic access. Increasing diversity is crucial to opening students to different intellectual and cultural perspectives.

Why Testing is Not the Golden Standard

Santiago Calderon, Editor-in-Chief March 3, 2022

If you aren’t currently a Senior, how’s that SAT and ACT prep going? If that just caused a brief sense of anxiety, that’s indicative of a genuine problem in America’s system in applying...

(Above) There was a large number of protests mainly across Europe in the lead up to the COP26 summit. But, there were at least some positive outcomes after years of demanding action. For example, the former governor of the Bank of England has unified 450 organizations to shift their activity to zero-carbon investments.

Don’t Look Up Gives Us Reason To

Santiago Calderon, Editor-in-Chief January 31, 2022

You’re at the ballot box. Picture it. A sea of black text on a sheet of white paper recording your major decision—your vote. When you think of what candidate to vote for, I’m sure there’s...

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