As someone who has worked part time in retail for almost 6 years, I can safely say I've met my fair share of interesting people. In fact, I think working in a garden centre can bring even more "unique characters" than perhaps working in a high street shop. I'm sure many many people working in all kinds of retail can recognise and categorise these types of customers listed below, and please feel free to leave any you think I've left out! I love reading your comments!

1. The Messenger Shooter: taken from the saying "don't shoot the messenger", this type of customer will scream and shout at the till operator when they are not satisfied with non-negotiable shop policies, as if it is their fault. Our store's completely legal but unusual policy of not being able to give a cash refund if returning a non-faulty item is a particularly unpopular one and I have been verbally abused on many occasions because of it - nice!

2. The Worship Expector: don't get me wrong, I always treat customers with respect and I am always super polite.  However, expecting me to get all your shopping for you whilst you have a coffee (and then claiming I've picked up the wrong "medium-sized" pots) is taking customer satisfaction slightly too far, in my opinion.

3. The Youth Doubter: this customer will ask me a question, I will give an answer and they will then go on to ask the EXACT same question to an older staff member who will give them the EXACT SAME ANSWER I GAVE THEM.  Despite being 21 (and looking about 16) I do actually know what I'm talking about (most the time). Another example falling under this category involved a customer recently inspecting the change I gave him for a good minute before announcing how he "knows what [us] young girls are like, always after [their] pension money".  How wonderfully ageist, sexist and naive all at the same time.

4. The Phone Conversationalist: this isn't a huge grudge of mine, but it is just pretty rude when a customer is on the phone while I'm trying to serve them. It makes the exchanging of money that little bit more awkward and disables any communication between customer and till operator. Funnily enough, us till operators are people too, not just robots working a till!

5. The Change Chucker: fairly straight forward - that customer who will throw their change at you, expecting you to count it all out for them. Charming.

6. The Change Hoarder: and opposing the previous "Change Chucker" persona; this customer typically leads a queue of people and will count out their pennies as if they don't have a care in the world (they probably don't). Often this will lead to the customer in fact not having enough change and having to use a card or break into a note instead anyway.

7. The Price Announcer: "These strawberries are expensive!" "I saw this exact bag in another store for much cheaper" "You can get this compost from Lidl's for half the price" DON'T BUY IT HERE THEN. Need I say more?

8. My Favourite Type of Customer: Okay I've had my vent, now let's finish on a more positive note. Polite, friendly customers are my favourites.  The ones that say good morning, the ones that acknowledge I am only human, the ones who smile! If you're feeling adventurous, even a small compliment can make a retail worker's day!

I was lucky enough to receive a Magnitone Lucid in the post thanks to The Bloggers Hub and their #bloggerslove Twitter party. I was so excited when I received an email saying it was being sent to me as I've heard so many great things about the brand, and I'm especially impressed with their involvement with bloggers.

Firstly, aesthetically-speaking, I love the colour range! Superficial I know, but who doesn't love an attractive product, right? My favourite colour is blue, so the colour choice wasn't hard for me. The design is also very slick and looks super professional.


But I guess the most important question is how well does this product really work?  The Magnitone Lucid claims to give you softer, brighter and clearer skins in just 7 days, so I decided to take this 7-day challenge. According to Magnitone, the basic science behind this product is the fact it's powered by Active Electromagnetic Technology. The Lucid pulsates up to 10,000 times a minute which means it's less abrasive than cheaper drugstore cleansing brushes (basically, the more pulsations, the less it's going to irritate your skin).  And if you are worried about the abrasiveness of electronic cleansing brushes, Magnitone are already a step ahead: it boasts two settings - deep clean and sensitive.

But Charli, how was your own experience with the brush? I'm so glad you asked. I was quite skeptical at first - what difference can a brush make? I used the same Freederm facial cleanser I always use followed by my Clean & Clear toner and The Body Shop Vitamin C moisturiser.  But I definitely saw some immediate results. After the first use, my skin felt super soft straight after drying my face,  as if I'd already moisturised.  Another thing I noticed was that my skin didn't feel tight like it often does after cleansing and before moisturising. After using the product for a few days , I've noticed that my skin is visibly brighter and more healthy-looking straight after cleansing.

So far, I am SO impressed with this product - it has delivered what it claims in just 7 days. The product may seem like quite an investment but I would say it's definitely worth it.  Moreover, Magnitone have kindly given me a code for my lovely readers which entitles you all to 20% off any Magnitone product before 31st July 2015! Just follow this link and enter the code below.
CODE: BLOVE20


I hope you find this review helpful; have you ever used a Magnitone product? What are your thoughts on these products?

I'm hoping to make this a monthly feature as I think it's SO important to acknowledge and share blogs that us bloggers love to read too! It can be a real self-esteem boost being told that something you work your ass off for is being enjoyed by other people, and of course it feels nice to be nice too!

1. Very Berry Cosmo

I love Very Berry Cosmo AKA Kayleigh because she is so REAL. Her writing style is so friendly and inviting, and her actual content is always compelling and refreshing.  One of the first of her posts that I read was titled 'My Experience with the Contraceptive Implant'; something which I'd be thinking about for a while.  Reading this post was what motivated me to get in touch with my GP regarding the implant and although I didn't go through with it at the time, it's something I will pursue with my regular GP back in Devon (who knows more about my medical history!) so I have her to thank for that.  I also met Kayleigh about a month ago at a blogger event in Sheffield and she is just as lovely in real life as she comes across in her blog.

2. Britton Loves

She's probably bored of my sycophancy by now as I have tweeted her on multiple occasions to tell her how much I enjoyed her latest YouTube videos but Britton Loves AKA Lauren is a real inspiration to me for many reasons.  I love her positivity that comes across in her Youtube videos, blog posts and on Twitter; I love her attitude to health and food (including her recipe and foodie blog posts!); and I love her blog photography which is always so obviously well thought-out and flawless.  As you can see from the above photo, she also reached 1000 blog followers recently which she totally deserves and so much more.

3. All Things Beautiful
I find myself constantly revisiting Jessie's blog because it always has so much great content! There is honestly something for everyone on this beautiful blog - from travel to beauty, fashion to fitness. Moreover, as with Lauren (Britton Loves), her blog photography is another favourite of mine. Her photos are consistently so sharp, crisp and pretty to look at! She's also a Welshie and as a Cardiff Uni student, this is a winner for me! I'm hoping to attend some blogger events when I'm back in Wales from September and perhaps see Jessie there too!

That's this month's round-up of inspirational bloggers, and I'm hoping these beautiful bloggers might inspire you too! Let me know your thoughts below!

I've been to six (I think?!) blogging events in the last four months and I just wanted to share some of my experiences and some tips I've picked up along the way! Obviously I don't class myself as any kind of expert - I've been blogging for less than 5 months - but as someone who has been there recently, who has felt physically sick with nerves on the way to multiple events, who has regretted being so shy and hardly speaking moments after I've left venues, I thought it'd be a more unique perspective than from someone who may have been blogging and attending events for years. Sorry for that lengthy sentence. Let's begin!


1. BE YOURSELF. Ugh, I really don't want this to be a generic "meeting new people" kind of post. But this is so important! Be that person you are with your best friend, family, partner. Don't worry what people think; at the end of the day we're all in the same boat, we all have the same interest in blogging, and in general people in the blogging community I've met along the way have been some of the nicest, non-judgemental people I've ever come across!


2. ASK AWAY! Take the opportunity to talk to other bloggers face to face. If you're just starting out with blogging, chances are there will be other bloggers there with more experience and blogging events and meetups are a perfect opportunity to ask questions. I've done this quite a few times now and it's been really useful - things like what camera they use, what events they've been to before, any tips they'd give to new bloggers. (Plus, let's be honest: 98%* of people LOVE talking about themselves. It's the PERFECT icebreaker if you're feeling nervous!)

*This statistic may or may not have been made up in my head with no evidence to back it up.


3. PRE-MEET UP. A couple of times before events I've opted to meet up with a couple of bloggers an hour or so before the event and I would REALLY recommend this if you're feeling nervous! It allows you to get all those pre-event nerves out before the actual event and takes away the intimidation of being bombarded with loads of new people on your own.  I've also stayed friendly with a lot of the girls I've met up with before events which is always a bonus! On the subject of pre-meet up, most events will have a Twitter hashtag, so be sure to be using this beforehand so you can see who else is attending!

I hope this has been somewhat helpful; please feel free to ask me any other questions in the comments or by tweeting me (@charli_bblogger)!