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.
At 19st and eight months pregnant, Ashley Whitfield, went into hospital to have her baby son, Isaac, delivered by emergency C-section .
A soap bubble lands on the frosty ground and creates a shimmering snow globe as crystals form around it .
Here's a collection of art for the DIGIT-AL age as these fascinating illusions of landmarks, places and even a banana are made using just a pair of hands .
SAT ON top of a Brazilian turtle’s head, this little ladybird looks content as he studies his environment from a new height .
WITH A wide smile plastered across his face, this little gecko is ready for his close up .
PILES of trash provide a living for thousands in Nairobi, Kenya .
ARM extended and head flung back, this little chipmunk performs a loose-limbed yoga move .
A Canadian photographer has captured crystal clear mirror images of Toronto's architecture reflected in puddles - simply by using his iPhone .
Gabrielle Dale, 26, was subjected to seven years of coercive control and physical abuse at the hands of her violent boyfriend Sean Owen, 29 .
While often referred to as the kings of the jungle, gorillas - for all their might - are notorious hydrophobes .
A group of shelter dogs showcase their loveable personalities in a series of passport-style photographs - in the hope of finding their forever homes .
A nine year old girl nearly lost her leg after doctors initially misdiagnosed her bone cancer as a pulled muscle .