Magical day brings a smile for young Sophia

A magical '˜fairy makeover' brought a beautiful smile to the face of young Sophia Wilton at the weekend.
Sophia Wilton at Petite Fairytale BoutiqueSophia Wilton at Petite Fairytale Boutique
Sophia Wilton at Petite Fairytale Boutique

The special treat was arranged by Petite Fairytale Boutique and charity Give4Beth, which were inundated with nominations for Sophia.

Family and friends put forward the seven-year-old’s name because they wanted her to have a special day, after the tragic death of her older sister Ellie Thornton, 11, in March.

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Sophia visited the Petite Fairytale Boutique in Worthing on Saturday, where she had a makeover by Fairyblossom.

She had her hair styled, sparkly nails, a glitter tattoo, fairy face sparkles and a jar of fairy dust. She chose a fairy dress, wings and shoes. The team at the boutique discovered during her visit that Sophia loves unicorns and that her favourite colour is blue, so she was also given the chance to make a blue Build-A-Bear unicorn to take home, and to choose a fairy dress for her speical teddy, which she brought along with her.

Sophia’s parents Kerry and Adrian, from Thakeham, said: “On the day Sophia lost her big sister Ellie, Sophia also lost her sense of fun and her beautiful smile, Sophia has had so much to understand and deal with at such a young age. She hasnt known how to put her hurt into words.

“During her time at the Petite Fairytale Boutique, she smiled, laughed and had fun and we saw our little girl again. Thank you so much to all at the boutique we really appreciate this pamper session. In the evening she opened up and spoke to us about her feelings.

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“Whilst nothing will bring back our beautiful Ellie, we were so happy to see Sophia smiling again and there wasn’t a dry eye in the boutique. Thank you so much to the charity for this wonderful gift.”

Boutique owner Lorraine Dumbrell offers the ‘Fairy Wishes’ makeovers for special children who are ill or facing difficult challenges.

They are provided free of charge and are arranged with the help of Rich Sherwell, who runs children’s charity Give4Beth.

Lorraine said: “Rich and I were inundated with emails and messages about little Sophia. Her family’s tragic loss of little Ellie really touched our hearts so we decided between us to do a very special ‘Fairy Wishes’ makeover for Sophia and hopefully bring some smiles at such a sad time.

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“She smiled from beginning to end and was absolutely delightful.

“We all fell a totally in love with Sophia on the day to be honest and our fairies are always here if she needs a little magic.”

Give4Beth was set up in 2011, primarily to raise funds for a little girl called Beth who needed £40,000 for life-changing surgery to allow her to walk.

That was a huge success, and Rich has continued the charity’s work to change children’s lives for the better.

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“Working alongside Lorraine and her fairies at the boutique has been fantastic. To be able to offer children a chance to be spoilt for just a few hours, or to take their mind away from life’s worries is priceless. We would obviously love to be able to offer so many more children the chance to enjoy the makeovers and therefore we’re always looking for ways to fundraise to support this idea.

“We’re absolutely delighted that we were able to put a huge smile on Sophia’s face. Such a lovely family that have endured a tragic loss.”

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