The new face of L'Oreal is the best one yet

Image: L’Oreal Paris

For the second time this month, we’re inordinately excited about a celebrity being named as the representative of a major beauty brand.

First it was the announcement that Tilda Swinton’s face – and the incredibly talented woman who owns it – would be fronting campaigns for NARS.

Now, we’ve learned L’Oreal Paris’ latest recruit is the one, the only, Dame Helen Mirren. If you’re late to the Dame Helen Appreciation Party, there are a few things you need to know.

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Not only is the 69-year-old a brilliant actress, with a stellar career and an Academy Award to her name; she is also just a really cool, switched-on woman. With great style and a sharp sense of humour to boot.

Before signing her contract, Mirren insisted her image must not be retouched by L’Oreal – considering how often Photoshop is used in beauty campaigns, this is quite an anomaly.

“I am truly delighted to become an ambassador and join such an impressive group of high-achievers,” Mirren says, referencing fellow L’Oreal ambassadors including Jane Fonda, Diana Keaton and Julianne Moore.

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"I am not gorgeous, I never was, but I was always OK-looking and I'm keen to stay that way. I hope I can inspire other women towards greater confidence by making the most of their natural good looks."

'OK-looking'? Hmmm. We'll just have to agree to disagree on that one - but we like the rest of her statement.

Also, Dame Helen is one celebrity we'd actually trust with beauty advice, because she's the kind of woman whose failproof beauty advice is "red lips and sunglasses", and who cuts her own hair. Earlier this year the Hundred-Foot Journey star told Redbook magazine she gets her hair cut about once a year, and tends to her own 'maintenance' in between - even before red carpet events.

Of course Helen Mirren cuts her own hair

“I get out the scissors and do something, usually rather disastrously," she confessed. We've all been there... although we don't all have Hollywood-quality stylists to fix the carnage.

Dame Helen isn't L'Oreal's only new recruit - our very own Naomi Watts has also been named as a spokesperson for the brand, due to her "immeasurable talent and graceful beauty."

Who would you love to see fronting a beauty campaign? Let us know!