Julia Roberts is the latest in a slew of actresses to sign on as an ambassador for luxury cosmetics brand Lancôme. Specifics regarding her contract (detailing the amount she’ll be paid for her duties, which products she’ll be spruiking and for how long) remain undisclosed at present, however speculation abounds that her “people” commanded a sum similar to that of her usual film fee: one that reads in excess of US$20 million.

While I understand the reasons behind Lancôme's decision to appoint Roberts - arguably the most bankable actress in the world, it does coincide nicely with her return to fulltime film-making (she currently has two films in production, including the eagerly awaited screenplay of the bestselling novel Eat, Pray, Love) - there are some factors I just can’t ignore.

To me, Roberts has always been your atypical Hollywood-type: not one to sell the virtues of cosmetic surgery much less cosmetics. I mean, she doesn’t shave her armpits, is said to not shower for days on end and is often photographed in little more than Birkenstocks and Thai fisherman’s pants. See my point?

That said, Uma Thurman and Kate Winslet before her also had reputations for being a little, shall we say, alternative, now didn't they? Hmmm.... is this clever marketing, I ask you? Or merely a coincidence?