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.
Heart pounding, Rebecca Cain jumped as a car door slammed on the street outside .
WITH LUSH GREEN LANDSCAPES stretching out as far as the eye can see, you're in for a treat at these one of a kind treehouses .
With the full moon looming behind him, this polar bear nestles down for the night .
A grandma who lost almost 12 stone after undergoing a gastric bypass has revealed that she now gets chatted up by men half her age .
From giant mountains to vast deserts, an American photographer spent a year capturing the diverse and beautiful landscape of the United States .
In June 2023, Aimee da Cunha, 33, from Perth, Australia, was boiling potatoes on the stove when her two-year-old daughter, Hailey, knocked the pan of water over her .
A woman has been left unable to smile after undergoing emergency surgery to remove infected lip fillers .
Ashlee, 20, has always known that she was supposed to be a girl .
Destroyed buildings and overturned cars are seen after a huge tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, near Oklahoma City, May 20, 2013 .
FORGET Thorpe Park this summer as this is a 50 mile-per-hour ride over the Colorado River CANYON .
This is the amazing moment two white-tailed kites take an in-flight meal - exchanging prey at 100 foot high in mid air .