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.
Some will get up close and personal with Mother Nature’s deadliest animals to get the perfect shot, posing the question, what lengths will a photographer go to for that all important picture? But in this case, the question should be what depths .
Lying angelically with a range of expressions etched on their tiny faces, little bundles of joy are innocently captured in their first few days in these adorable photographs .
HOTSPOT MEDIA - BEAUTY QUEEN ACID SCARE: Miss England finalist, Karla Fitzpatrick, 19, at the Miss England contest .
SKIPPING on the spot, an adorable little owl embraces the 'running man' challenge .
Dogs catch waves at the Coronado Bay dog surf championships Saturday 22nd June 2013- DOG SURFING mutts have never looked so gnarly .
PUSHING the diver out of his way, this little sea turtle shows he’s not in the mood for photographs .
A mother-of-four has revealed how her daughter was stabbed to death by her ex partner, while their horrified children watched on .
A world's first restaurant has opened in Canada, where having your order fall on deaf ears is a good thing .
A cheeky chipmunk offers some of his spare food, before deciding against the idea and shoving the extra peanut into his already crammed mouth .
Daniel Blore, 21, of Innage Crescent, Bridgnorth, stabbed his mother three times in the attack on January 11 this year, Stafford Crown Court heard .
Britons have finally received some good news about the weather with temperatures expected to reach 30 degrees this weekend .
A woman who was addicted to GREGGS has lost 9st after giving up her favourite food .