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.
Louise McManaman, 50, from Liverpool, started seeing Ian Blackburn, 62, in November 2021 .
UNDERWATER and above-water seaside shots show the best of British beach-life .
From a floating jelly fish to a relaxed seal, Britain’s unappreciated beach life is captured above and below the water .
A grand 56-bedroom hotel, once heaving with injured soldiers during the First World War, now lies completely abandoned .
A woman who was addicted to GREGGS has lost 9st after giving up her favourite food .
COVERING themselves in ash and face paint, these are the holy men who live their lives away from everyday society .
AN ADORABLE one-eyed kitten has been dubbed the 'pirate cat' because of his pirate-like facial expressions .
WRAPPED up in classy headscarves, these adorable pooches are the picture of sophistication .
RACING through the mountain range on horseback, the Kazakh people practice their ancient tradition of hunting with golden eagles .
Sophie Carr, 23, from Swindon, was just six when her older brother Alex, then 12, abused her during a game of mummies and daddies .
ALL IS not as it seems in these deceptive cityscapes .
A woman was diagnosed with cancer after a cyst left her so bloated medics were convinced she was pregnant .