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Invisibility magic does work. I don't believe for a moment that it makes you literally transparent-invisible; rather, I concieve of it more like making yourself unnoticeable. You just don't register as present in your target's mind; attention misses you, sliding right over you as unimportant, just a piece of the background. Think beads of water sliding off a newly waxed car.

I've got a personal anecdote for 'invisibility;' it's not the most exciting or thrilling thing in the world, but it does illustrate another real-life application of the trick (and an unintended side consequence.)

When I got my first car in '96 I was, for some reason, afraid of traffic police (though I am not afraid of them any longer.) I don't remember specifically what type of spell I did anymore; it would have been something emphatically Neopagan/faux 'Wiccan,' because that was all I knew at the time. I know I made a small magical bundle of some kind and stashed it in my car under one of the front seats. I must have put a tremendous amount of energy in it, because the bundle worked too well: forever afterwards in all the years since, the car often fails to trigger traffic light sensors when the lights are of the 'smart' variety. I often got off work late, and the effect was very noticeable when it would be eleven at night and I'd be the only one at an empty intersection, and if I didn't do something about it I would sit there for ten minutes for a light that never changed to green for me because it just didn't sense any cars present... I got -good- at whammying street lights to change. The odd thing is that I have never been able to make traffic lights change color at will on command (as in TURN GREEN NOW, that sort of thing) but I make the light aware the car is there and it subsequently changes in due turn. I still have the car and drive him once in a while; I usually forget he has this little problem because I drive him so rarely (only when my current car is in the shop.) Invariably, the traffic light thing occurs, I laugh, and start having to whammy them again...

I think that not making eye contact helps a lot in not being noticed.

Also, in today's world there is a lot of noise pollution. You have to rise above the already high level of noise in order to be noticed. If you merely practice being quiet that gives you an edge at invisibility.