THERE aren’t many downsides to being an adult fairy, says children’s entertainer and body painter Vanessa Lovell, more widely known as Nessa the Fairy.

“Basically my dreams have come true,” she says. “I get to dress up in sparkly wings, have fun and be creative, and spend my weekends laughing and playing with kids.  Probably the most wonderful thing about being a fairy is that it always brings a smile.

“You get kids who doubt you’re real and tell you you’re a fake but mostly they’re amazing.”

Mum-of-three Nessa says her career as a fairy started in 2006, when her daughter was seven and fairy-obsessed.

“She had this book called ‘The Secret Fairy Party’, and she said to me one day, ‘I wish I could have a secret fairy party’.

“I tried to find a fairy entertainer for her birthday but I couldn’t, so I decided to dress up as a fairy myself and do a few party games. She loved it, and a few of the parents there said ‘oh, we should hire you’. It went from there.”

Nessa says she started her business Magical Realms in 2007 and began gradually expanding her skillset and employing other fairies.

“I got inspiration from The Fairy Forum online, and ended up buying puppets and acting out stories, and doing glitter tattoos,” she says.

“I’ve always enjoyed making art but didn’t think I had any natural talent in that area. I thought I’d give face-painting a try and it was a lot harder than it looks.

“In the end it was all about practice and I taught myself from a book and YouTube videos. The more you do, the better you get.”

Self-taught face-painting led to pregnant-belly and body painting, she says, and each brings its own challenges.

“With bellies, I like to personalise the design to the couple, and bring in elements of their lives together and create something meaningful – although sometimes they can’t think of anything they particularly want,” she says.

“But belly painting is a really nice way to remember being pregnant; and you have the photos which you can keep forever even though the paint washes off.

“It’s wonderful to stand back and go: ‘That’s great, I’m pleased with that’, and I also like that it’s gone once it’s done.”

Nessa says that artists’ showcase RAW contacted her about a body painting showcase, in which she painted three models – a skeleton, an elf queen and a rainbow top, plus made the accessories.

“The nice thing with RAW was that I felt I could call myself an artist after doing that, because they said I was one,” she says.

“With body painting it’s been mostly faces and torsos for me so far. It’s surprisingly not awkward, painting people’s boobs.”

Nessa says her mum makes all her fairy dresses from her “piles of fairy fabric”.

“She loves to make my outfits, and so I have quite a few now – including a maternity design from when I was pregnant, a space fairy dress, a Christmas one and a rainbow dress,” she says.

Adult face painting at parties is popular now, Nessa says, though they are usually more likely to choose a smaller eye design than a full face.

“I really love working with kids though, they’re gorgeous and so different from adults,” she says.

“I’ve met so many beautiful kids over the years, and the ones that really crawl inside my heart and take up residence are the ones that are ill or having a hard time of it for some reason. They have so much grace and such a great attitude even when facing the constantly invasive procedures, the pain and discomfort, and the possibility of an early passing.

“Kids don’t have the same judgements that we do and they’re very welcoming and friendly.

“I love it – I get to dress up and be a fairy for a living.”

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