Some of you DeLush readers are blessed with gorgeous dark skin. Unfortunately, sometimes it's hard to find relevant beauty tips specific to your coloring. Even in the mainstream media, much of the advice and color suggestions aren't geared toward you specifically. So we want our readers to share with each other! Are there any special beauty tips that you can pass on or specific colors that really make your skin glow? Tell us!

Photo: pixelperu

Today, we're featuring a line-up of luxurious skin care products at drugstore prices from the brand Skin Milk, available at Walgreens, Wal-Mart, drugstore.com and other food, drug and mass market retailers. Each of these products retails at just $4.99. At these kinds of prices, you can afford to choose more than one!

"Replenish your skin with the moisturizing benefits provided by SkinMilk® Body Cream. This rich cream helps improve skin's texture. Skin Milk® Body Cream also contains real milk proteins and vitamins A, D and E to soften and smooth skin as well as White Pond Lily and Comfrey botanical extracts, which help in soothing the effects of dry skin."

Jen's Experience:Of all the products in this line, this one is my favorite. The body cream is super light and fluffy, it easily smooths onto my skin without feeling greasy, and soaks in well-enough that I can wear it under clothing. My chief complaint with this product, as with all of the Skin Milk products I've reviewed, is the vanilla-coconut fragrance. I've never been much of a vanilla girl, though, so others may be a fan of the scent.

"SkinMilk® Facial Scrub gently removes dead skin cells and impurities by using the natural exfoliant properties of oat flour and almond meal. The wholesome goodness of milk proteins and vitamins A, D and E leaves your skin smooth and soft."

Jen's Experience: I tend to be a little wary of exfoliators with my dry, sensitive skin, but this facial scrub used 3 times each week definitely resulted in brighter skin and no irritation, and left my face feeling soft, not at all dry.

"Indulge yourself in a luxurious skin-softening bath. SkinMilk® Foaming Bath contains real milk proteins along with vitamins A, D, and E that soften and smooth the skin. The long lasting foam contains botanical extracts of White Pond Lily and Comfrey to leave your skin feeling fresh and soft."

Jen's Experience: Have you ever wished you could fill you tub with bubbles like you see on film? The amount of bubbles produced by this foaming bath will make you feel pampered like movie star, and the moisture that this product adds to your body will last long after you've put on your dressing gown. Watch out, though, it will make your bathtub super slippery.

"Pamper your skin while you cleanse the body. This gentle was creates a lather that will leave your skin soft and supple. SkinMilk® Shower Gel contains real milk proteins and vitamins A, D and E to smooth and soften the skin, as well as White Pond Lily and Comfrey botanical extracts which help soothe the body."

Jen's Experience: I really love a good shower gel, and this one seems to be a high quality product that lives up to its claims. I especially like the pump dispensers, a brilliant choice for those with slippery hands.

"Soften and smooth your skin every time you wash your hands with SkinMilk® Anti-Bacterial Hand Wash. The delicate soap blend combined with skin moisturizing emollients leaves your hands feeling moisturized and clean."

Jen's Experience: I have always used Bath and Body Works Anti-Bacterial cleansers at the sink, and this product compares favorably, although I would like a fruitier scent. I've used it extensively to remove self-tanning lotions, and it's thorough and does the job without drying out my hands.

About the lip gloss: "Detroit women are not afraid to speak their minds... and turn some heads! These high performance glosses are the answer for full, flirty, fabulous lips. MOTOR CITY MAKEUP lip glosses contain luxurious ingredients such as Vitamin E, Coconut Oil and Tiare Flower to moisturize and soften your lips.
The shiny and smooth finish leaves those other gooey glosses in the dust! Available in 10 varieties for all Makes and Models."

Jen's Experience: When I opened up the lip gloss, I was surprised at how bright and shiny the "Knockout" color is. I thought since it was lip gloss, it would be much softer once it was applied. But I was totally wrong -- this is some heavily pigmented color. Now, I've never been one for bright colors, but this one really works for me without looking garish. I wear it to work or out on the town with a large portion of my wardrobe. It lasts for a really long time; even when the glossiness is gone, the color remains, and so does the moisture. It doesn't make my lips feel super-dry when in fades away like most lip glosses do. And for people who share my pale skintone: you'll love the way the blue undertones in this particular color make your teeth look really white. Even if this isn't the shade for you, I highly recommend trying one of Motor City Makeup's lip glosses for their great, long-lasting color.

Retail Price: $12.00

About the lip balm: "Detroit has freezing winters and scorching summers. Our poor lips don’t know what to do. Never fear...MOTOR CITY MAKEUP™ Lip Balm is here! Our lip balm soothes and protects with Vitamin E, the supreme antioxidant. These colorful balms glide on sheer and provide major shine. Each balm is mildly scented in a yummy flavor. These balms don't "fuel" around."

Jen's Experience: After opening the adorably packaged lip balm in "Joyride", I was excited about the yummy raspberry smell and the pretty and subtle shade. I thought when I first touched it that it might be too stiff to give good coverage and moisture to my lips, but when I put it on I knew my impression was all wrong. It spread easily on my lips and provided hours of moisture and flavor to my winter-dry lips. It also looks great over a lip pencil for a nice, soft shine. I would love to have this in a tube and keep in handy whereever I go, but until then, I'm keeping my raspberry-flavored joyride close.

Retail Price: $8.00

Lip Gloss:

Lip Balm:

About Motor City Makeup: "MOTOR CITY MAKEUP™, LLC was founded by two turbo charged Motor City gals (Cindy L. and Natalie H.) in August 2004. Cindy L. is a Licensed Esthetician and Makeup-Artist. She specializes in color creation and is always one step ahead of the trends in makeup. In addition to co-creating MOTOR CITY MAKEUP™, Cindy is known to give the best facials in the Motor City. She is recognized for her gentle touch and creating an ultra-relaxing atmosphere. Natalie H. is a Registered Nurse who has worked with adolescents dealing with skin care issues. As well as co-creating MOTOR CITY MAKEUP™, Natalie works as a freelance health care reporter and has written many articles for a monthly health column in a local Detroit magazine.

Together, Cindy and Natalie have the expertise to create innovative and fabulous formulas. They were inspired to create their own cosmetic line that offered high quality ingredients, beautiful colors and cute packaging. So, these two high energy women teamed up with two leading cosmetic chemists to develop and manufacture their own line of makeup. They worked tirelessly for about a year with chemists, graphic artists, web designers and other Metro-Detroit professionals to design and manufacture their products.

The two founders of MOTOR CITY MAKEUP™ are both born and raised in the Metro Detroit area. Cindy and Natalie love the City and wanted to capture the rejuvenated life and energy that has recently been growing in the Detroit area. They are constantly inspired from the cool people that live in and around Detroit. They decided that MOTOR CITY MAKEUP™ products should capture the spirit of Detroit; a tough outer shell with a soft inner beauty. Their makeup blends high quality ingredients with automotive inspired packaging."

If you subscribe to our newsletter, you might have noticed that this week's beauty tip was all about at-home haircolor. I was inspired to write that after a long search over a couple of weeks for a new color. I've dyed my hair since I was about 12 or 13, so I have no idea what my true natural color is, only that my roots are dark enough to be noticable when I dye my hair my usual light beige or light ash blonde. In the interest of finally matching my eyebrows, and perhaps less upkeep, I decided to go brunette. Having never colored my hair darker than my natural roots, I was at a loss for what shade of brown to try. Eventually, I settled for Light Golden Brown, which was a good match for my skin tone without going too dark at once.

Well, this weekend, I took the plunge and colored my hair. It was a long 30 minutes, and it looked like it was going to work, but when I rinsed my hair out, I was really shocked. It wasn't that different from the last color. Even worse, when I styled it this morning, it took on an orange glow. I can't figure out what I did wrong; I keep re-reading the instructions to see if I missed a step. The lesson here, girls? The color strand test is your friend on major color changes.

I've had a couple of bad coloring experiences in the past, but mostly through my own fault. I colored my hair platinum blonde for several years, but when I did it myself, the back of my hair didn't always come out right, almost in zebra stripes. But for the most part, I've had great experiences with at-home color.

Now, it's your turn. Tell us about a great experience, your favorite hair color product, or your worst haircolor nightmare. And if you have any tips for toning down my hair -- please, I need the advice.

Is there a special boutique where you live or vacation that makes your favorite perfume or lip balm? Is there a local merchant at a farmer's market whose lotion or soap you love? Tell us about your local beauty favorites and go ahead and link to them so we can enjoy them, too!

For example, one of my favorites at the local farmer's market is "The Soap Lady", as she is referred to in my house! Actually, she is the woman behind Cherokee Soap, at Nature's Emporium Soap Company. And every market season I have to STOCK UP on this stuff for myself and for gifts for friend and family for all occasions (I bought bars and bars this past September for Christmas!). The scents are incredible, the packaging alone is gift-worthy with its artistic beauty (the pics don't do it justice), and the soap is incredibly soft. Go here to buy some now! It's very reasonably-priced for the quality you get at around $6.50 for each thick bar. The commerce site isn't the easiest to navigate, but it's SO worth it! They even have scents just for men! My favorites? Madagascar Vanilla, Carrot Oatmeal, Goddess, Mountain Morning...uh-oh, I'd better stop now!

I also have a favorite place down in Siesta Key, Florida where I like to get custom essential perfume oils blended every time we go down there (at $11.50 a piece how can I resist?). You can mix any combo you like, and I love the convenient roller-ball sized applicators. It's called Lotions & Potions, and you can go here to check it out! (It might be easier to call the order in if you have any issues online or want to combine fragrances.) My favorite combinations? 1/2 Vanilla Musk/ 1/2 Razzleberry and 1/2 Vanilla Musk / 1/2 Egyptian Musk. I get compliments each time I use them, especially the Vanilla/Egyptian combo.

Now it's YOUR turn!