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.
Several times a year, Gemma, 21, can be found mumbling her words and struggling to concentrate as she walks around in a dream-like state .
A mum-of-two, who was scarred for life in a brutal attack at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, is now urging others to leave their abusive partners .
A lazy otter finds the ideal spot to soak up the sun and sleep off his lunch .
HOTSPOT MEDIA - LETHAL BIRTHMARK NEARLY SUFFOCATES GIRL: Zoe Mitchell when she was two-weeks-old .
Meet the real-life Little Bo Peep - a young woman who spends her days tending to her four pet SHEEP .
Forget One Direction and Cheryl Cole, a new calendar is celebrating Britain's real heroes - the nation's most inspiring mums .
Throwing their arms up in the air, these energetic squirrels play a game of ball with a walnut .
USUALLY full to bursting, these London Underground stations stand silent and completely commuter free .
A mother-of-one has told how she nearly died after contracting toxic shock syndrome from a tampon .
Exibiting their superhuman strength these ants look ready to create an art attack by lifting pencils several thousand times their own weight .
football club has scored an own goal after it had to embarrassingly rename its stadium in honour of the DEVIL .