Jaime King — model, actress, mother of two, wife, activist, and card-carrying member of the Taylor Swift girl squad (Swift is her son’s godmother!) — just added another accolade to her already impressive list. Today marks the launch of her makeup collaboration with the cult (and Kylie Jenner favorite) Southern California-based cosmetics company ColourPop. Her foray into beauty is a long time coming — and something she doesn’t take lightly.

“Growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, I didn't have access to fancy makeup and expensive things, nor the money to afford them,” King tells us. “It was exciting if I could get a Wet n Wild eyeliner, you know what I mean?" The most glorious moment of King's young life, she says, was when her mom became a Clinique saleswoman at her local mall. "I thought I made it to the big leagues," she says. "I'll never forget the feeling of twisting open this beautiful, sheer, pink lipstick with a little shimmer in this beautiful case — I just felt so glamorous and so happy. When I decided I wanted to do a makeup line, I really wanted to give other people that feeling. I wanted them to feel like they got the best of the best, but in a way that they could afford.”

Enter her stunning 12-piece Alchemy collection. The line features gorgeous colors and high-quality finishes that magically belie those low price tags. Each of the multitasking products can be worn alone or mixed together, and flatters every imaginable skin tone. "I've always been very attracted to alchemy and the idea of what happens when you add this with that, and what it turns into," says King. "Just like human relationships! When you add two people together, or three people together, or four people together, and somehow that fourth person turns the whole room into a different experience." We hear that.

Ahead, King walks us through the transformative collection.