She was the 18th century celebrity who made men faint in awe of her beauty by her very presence. But her beauty - and her vanity - led to her demise as the lead-based make-up she insisted on plastering on daily resulted first in the loss of her looks, then deadly blood poisoning. Now the grand 7ft mirror in which Maria Gunning, the former Countess of Coventry, admired her stunning reflection has been auctioned off for more than £300,000. Labelled the first victim of vanity, Maria died aged 27 in 1760 after her love of make-up resulted in her untimely death. The 253-year-old mirror sold well above its estimate even though her condition meant she the society hostess used it for a matter of just months. A glorious George II giltwood overmantel design, it was bought for her by her husband The Sixth Earl of Coventry in 1759, who is said to have been so frustrated by his wife's love of make up that he would chase her around the dinner table with a handkerchief, trying wipe it from her face.
SAT ON top of a Brazilian turtle’s head, this little ladybird looks content as he studies his environment from a new height .
CLINGING onto nothing but ice, this brave climber reaches heights of 1000 FEET as he scales frozen solid waterfalls .
A family of foster carers are facing bankruptcy and homelessness after they signed up to a Government scheme to renovate their house to be used for disabled children's short breaks .
YOU’VE heard of the northern lights now feast your eyes on the natural wonder of the SOUTHERN lights .
BALANCING 30 metres above ground, these slackliners take the expression of living dangerously one step further, by tightrope walking NAKED .
THIS BIGFOOT 'Jesus bird' may look silly, but he's perfectly designed for walking on water .
A pair of adorable polar bear cubs play-fight with each other in the Alaskan snow .
BALANCING on top of a tree, this bear cub puts her climbing skills to the test .
An osprey soars through the air at 30 miles per hour before swooping down to catch its prey from a lake .
Is your cat bored? Do his usual playthings simply not do it for him anymore? Not to worry - there's an app for that .
AN EXERCISING turtle and an ice-skating chick are hardly everyday exploits in the animal community .