This Pre-Made Essential Oil Combo Completely Transformed My Greasy Skin

Sh*t I Actually Use is where Beauty Editor Nikki Brown and other members of the StyleCaster team wax poetic about the products that make it past their desks and into their beauty routines.

Though my skin-care routine isn’t 100 percent clean or eco-conscious, I still make an effort to use as many naturally derived products as possible. While I understand that this method doesn’t work for everyone, it has proven to be successful for me. My skin is generally unproblematic. I deal with the occasional breakout, and sometimes it feels like there isn’t enough moisturizer in the world to keep it from flaking.

MORE: Your Everything Guide to Fixing Your Skin with Face Oils

But without fail, the challenge I’m faced with between every summer and fall season is slick, greasy skin. Even when I’m not braving 100-degree weather and sitting pretty in an air-conditioned room, I can work my way through a pack of blotting sheets in the matter of a few hours, thus completely destroying whatever makeup I applied earlier that day. And as someone who dedicates a significant amount of time to a beauty routine, it’s frustrating to say the least.

Mattifying products have never worked for me, and wearing nothing at all has proven to do more harm than good. At this point, the only leftover option was to fight oil with oil. As backward as it sounds, this method actually works! And while I couldn’t spend a lot of time testing out different types, this pre-made combo from the California-based vegan skin care line Tu’el Skin Care is what did the trick.

MORE: The Newest Clean Product Launches at Credo Beauty

The Name: Tu’el Skincare Balancing Act Essential Oil

The Price: $34 (A bit pricey, but so worth it.)

The Perks: So besides the crazy-cool blue shade of this oil, what makes it a powerhouse solution for slick skin is the type of oils included: lemongrass, bergamot and cypress. Let’s start with lemongrass. It’s derived from lemongrass leaves (usually found in Southeast Asia) and its benefits lie mostly in its healing properties. In short: It can sop up the excess oil in pimples without completely drying them out and creating dark spots.

And when used regularly, it can ward off future breakouts, too. Bergamot oil, derived from the citrus bergamot fruit, is renowned for its ability to heal scars and balance out melanin production. So it’s there to keep your skin even and glowy in the case that lemongrass doesn’t do its job. And finally, cypress oil is also antimicrobial. It speeds up the healing of wounds (aka pimples) and isn’t as irritating as other types of oil-control ingredients, such as the more popular tea tree.

All in all, the benefits of these three oils sort of overlap each other, which makes me wonder: How come it took so long for a brand to combine them in one product? Now that my dewy skin goals have been achieved, I’ll definitely be investing in the rest of Tu’el’s oily skin lineup.