The Analog Universe

Have you ever noticed that in almost every New York Times article about an actress, she is described as coming to meet the reporter for an interview wearing "not a trace of makeup"? (It shows that despite all the hype about how beautiful and glamorous she is, the actress is really a simple, down to earth, girl-next-door who just runs on talent.) I'm always amazed when the exact same expression is used over and over, like a formula in an oral epic (the way, for instance, in the Iliad, Dawn is always "rosy-fingered" and Zeus is often "cloud-gathering".) Did an order go out from the editor in chief? Is it just the reporters imitating each other? Or has word gotten around the acting community never to wear makeup to a New York Times interview?