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.
MEET the little lion of suburbia with a mane that makes him look like a mini-king of the jungle .
A BEAUTIFUL sight for the eyes and the imagination, these liquid sculptures take shape in many different colours and formations .
Sarah Gould, before weight loss Mum told "get down the gym fatty" -A 20 stone woman who was told "get down the gym fatty" on a night out has shed a third of her weight in time for her dream wedding .
A mum-of-one has revealed how her one-year-old daughter suffered second and third degree burns to 22% of her body after pouring boiling water over herself .
The dog having been pulled from the car - A police officer smashed a window in the blue Chrysler car to free the dog which was in visible distress .
A British jewellery designer with a passion for London's iconic Gherkin has created a pen with an INK-REDIBLE price tag of £27,500 .
A mother-of-one has told how she nearly died after contracting toxic shock syndrome from a tampon .
A photographer has captured spellbinding images of stars swirling above the English countryside .
In 2021, Anneka Watkinson, now 37, from Lancashire, met Chris, now 40 .
Meet the sisters who have both been diagnosed with a one in 3 .