My earliest introduction to skin care came as a result of my mother’s trips to the department store beauty section. She would go every so often to restock her favorite perfume or mascara and always came back home with a goodie bag of the free gifts and samples that came with her purchase. That’s how I was first introduced to the Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel as a pre-teen—and the cult-favorite product has been part of my skincare routine for over a decade since.

That said, I started using the product before I even knew what a skincare routine was. I only knew that I was supposed to wash my face, then moisturizer after, and so I did. With every new skincare product I learn about or try, though, those two simple rules and this Clinique moisturizer are the only things that have remained constant. Now, as a mid-20s writer in the beauty space, I know more about my skin and the science behind it, helping me better understand why I love this product so much.

This moisturizing gel is specifically tailored to combination and oily skin, which I have. The formula is lightweight and oil-free, so I don’t have to worry about it making my T-zone extra shiny, while its star ingredient, hyaluronic acid, locks in enough moisture to address my dry areas.

My favorite thing about this moisturizer, though, is that after I apply it, my skin feels like my skin. It doesn’t feel sticky, oily, or coated in a thick layer of product. Instead, my face looks and feels plump and refreshed directly upon application, and that feeling always carries into the next morning.

Another quality I can’t forget to mention about this product is it’s cost-effectiveness. While the $30 price tag doesn’t exactly make it a bargain deal, the amount of time one bottle lasts does. As one of the 2,000 five-star reviewers on Sephora says, “You need very little for the whole face,” so a little goes a long way. Even though I use this product daily, it often lasts me close to a year before I need to refill it.

Now, I’ll admit I’ve had my moments of infidelity—like when I went on Proactiv’s 3-step routine in middle school or have tried out new products I’ve gotten through work—but I always come back to the Clinique moisturizing gel. No other product I’ve tried has ever come close to the—in my opinion—perfect formula of this one. So at this rate, I fully plan on using this moisturizer for the rest of my life and introducing it to my kids (when/if I have them) as I teach them to wash their faces, then moisturize after.