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.
HIDING behind its flipper, this little seal comes over a little camera shy .
This cheeky chappie is getting into all kinds of monkey business as he enjoys cooling off on a scorching hot day .
Grandmother Janet Kirby was told she couldn't board her plane home after being accused of assault .
JUDGE BLASTED FOR LETTING PAEDO WALK FREE A PERVERT who sexually assaulted two young girls on an allotment, telling them he was brushing spiders off them, has walked free from court – because jailing him was ‘unfair’ on his family .
Amber Baskerville, 30, started dating Craig Chard, 34, in October 2021 .
WELCOME to all that remains of Britain's once state-of-the-art military hospital where plastic surgery was pioneered for injured WW1 troops who survived the SOMME .
In April 2018, Lourdes Cuello, 50, from New Jersey, US, was making a cup of tea when her hair and hoodie caught fire on her gas stove .
Throwing their arms up in the air, these energetic squirrels play a game of ball with a walnut .
This artist had a lot of bottle to re-create a masterpiece painted with nothing but 24 litres of cola .
FROM a HOLLYWOOD actress to the face of an innocent child, these are incredible drawings with an unlikely twist .
PAWS for thought as you feast your eyes on this rare bear bathing session .