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.
CRAZY BEARDS come into their GROWN when they've been twisted and waxed into shape .
A Canadian couple celebrated their engagement by recreating iconic moments from the film The Notebook .
The San Antonio Zoo in Texas has welcomed a bizarre new addition - a two-headed turtle named Thelma and Louise .
TOMORROW (Saturday) marks the 28th anniversary of the nuclear disaster that left the city of Chernobyl devastated .
MEET the underwater British seal who is so friendly he loves to grapple divers like a friendly puppy dog .
SHOVELLING food into his mouth, this hungry gorilla enjoys a peaceful moment at dinner time .
Recovering from a rare form of breast cancer, Deborah Barnett, 43, of Stoke-on-Trent, thought she'd made it through the worst, but she was betrayed by former colleague Sandra Ramsay, of Mow Cop Road, Mow Cop, Stoke-on-Trent .
Pic By HotSpot Media - SWASTIKA’S SPRAYED ON MOSQUE - RACIST graffiti including swastikas have been emblazoned on a £2 .
A LUXURY baby cot has hit the shelves with a price tag just shy of 10 MILLION POUNDS .
WITH the phosphorescent blobs and mesmerising patterns, these spectacular images may look like the hall marks of an enchanted forest but it is in fact the scene of thousands of dancing FIREFLIES .
SAT ON top of a Brazilian turtle’s head, this little ladybird looks content as he studies his environment from a new height .