If You’re Reading This, You’re Probably Sneezing Wrong and It’s Gross

Munn shared with TODAYthat she didn't initially plan to show her scars on the set. The campaign was focused on her recovery post-breast cancer diagnosis, but the makeup artist had a hard time covering up the scars throughout the shoot. She explained that she took a look in the mirror and thought, "I’m done being insecure about my scars." From there, she took the idea to show them off to the SKIMS team — and the rest is history.

And while she was scared to be so vulnerable on camera, this was ultimately a really empowering move for Munn. She elaborated that there are "so many women that have these same scars" who feel just as insecure as she did about them — and she really hopes those women see this ad. "Skims is so iconic and associated with beauty and sex appeal, and cancer really doesn't have that same connotation," she said. "So I just really hope that other women who have gone through my same path feel a little better after seeing it."

The star also took to Instagram to give a behind-the-scenes explanation of her experience. She reiterated that she was "done being insecure" about her scars. "Every mark life has left behind on my body is proof of how hard I fought," she wrote. "I hope other women who have been self-conscious about their scars see these photos and feel all the love I’m sending."

She also shared that SKIMS will donate 10% of their bra sales (except bralettes) to Susan G. Komen® — a charity dedicated to finding a cure for breast cancer — from October 23-31 in stores and online. "It’s really meaningful to be part of an initiative that supports research and helps countless individuals impacted by breast cancer," she said.

All of this comes on the heels of Munn's announcement earlier this year that she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She revealed the diagnosis came after recently tested negatively for well-known breast cancer genes and had normal results from her annual mammogram — but her doctor to check her Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score. The test showed Munn had a 37% risk of breast cancer, so she pushed for more answers that eventually lead to her diagnosis.

Since then, Munn shared with PEOPLE that she had 4 surgeries in 10 months and underwent medically-induced menopause — all the while juggling being a new mom with husband John Mulaney. She shared, "I'm lucky. We caught it with enough time that I had options. I want the same for any woman who might have to face this one day."

After that March announcement, it's clear Munn is dedicated to raising awareness for women's health — and particularly their options. While chatting about the SKIMS campaign, Munn told TODAY, "You've got to go your doctor and you inundate them with information and you don't stop until they give you the test you need."

If you want to test your own risk for breast cancer, the National Institute of Health has resources here.

Despite the fact One Tree Hill might not have been considered the golden child at the time, the series has garnered a cult following since its on-air days, drawing fans to Wilmington, North Carolina for its anniversary celebration, and nearly breaking the internet when news of a sequel series leaked online.

"It's very, very early development," Burton says. "And so what has been really cool for us? And when I say us, I mean the entire cast, like everybody and our old crew, they're all really proud of the work that we did back then too. And so to see the public support this little show we made 20 years later, that's so special and it's so rare. And I love that, even though that news was leaked, Netflix gets to see that public outpouring of support. That's cool. So, fingers crossed we'll make it to the next step."

Burton was in her twenties for the majority of OTH, and while she (alongside other female cast members of the show) have since vocalized the mistreatment they experienced from showrunner Mark Schwahn, the challenges of her twenties don't overshadow the accomplishments.

"I was not afraid to say difficult things in my twenties," she says. "And what I can tell other people in their twenties is that the long game will pay off. If you say the difficult thing and you say the truth, and you don't mask and you don't make up an alternative narrative, people will eventually realize that you were right."

Although the people pleaser in all of us might not want to rock the boat, she praises young people who refuse to accept toxicity: "We definitely have a feistier generation coming up than what I grew up in."

With her fiery attitude and sharp sense of humor, I have no problem believing Burton was one of the feistiest women of her generation, and she now finds herself advocating for a new phase in her own life: perimenopause. The actress is currently partnering with OLLY for their new Mellow Menopause supplements, bringing awareness to a conversation that should have been happening all along.

Burton never really had a menstrual cycle until she started birth control, which messed with her hormones and led to a Xanax prescription she never needed. And as she aged, she moved from having pain during her period to having it during ovulation. "I felt like there was something really wrong with me because no one had explained that could happen," she says. "So the more we can throw out what the symptoms are, I think the calmer people will be in their exploration of their own bodies."

Knowledge and education are power, and Burton firmly believes the more you understand your body, your hormones, and your emotions, the safer you'll feel. But that's only one silver lining she's found.

"I've talked about the feminine rage that I feel like I've earned," she says. "That Kesha song 'Joyride' came out this summer. She says, 'I've earned the right to be like this.' And I was like, 'Yeah, of course.' I think we spend our twenties experimenting. We spend our thirties kind of, like, establishing our careers and what our goals are. And then our forties are about knowing who we are and owning it. And if biology wants to come out swinging, I think we're in a place where we can control that and we can handle it."

That isn't to say perimenopause hasn't come without its unexpected moments, like having to convince others she really was experiencing perimenopause, despite being "too young." "The more research I did, and then in talking to my doctor, my instinct was right," she reveals. "I was beginning the [menopause] journey, and rather than try to hide it or treat it like a deficit, I get to own it. Now I get to treat it and I get to help other women navigate it. And that feels so much better when you're going through a bad thing, but you know that you're helping someone else through it. It doesn't feel as scary."

But while it's important to be vocal about our experiences, I also can't help but point out how it feels like men never have to talk about aging — they just get to do it and no one bats an eye. "Yeah, I think it's important to act like a man," Burton jokes. She remembers when her husband (actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan) embraced his natural gray hair, no one in the industry considered him too old for Hollywood.

"In fact, people thought he was hotter," she says. "So I wanted to act like a man in that journey [and embrace my own gray hair]. And so the different reaction I had was a little bit startling, but also made me laugh...I want to treat this chapter of my life as my expertise chapter. I know what I'm doing. I've been training for 20 years, 25, it's been a lot and I wanted to acknowledge that I know what I'm doing and when I talk about my body, I want to know exactly what I'm talking about."

And part of that expertise is knowing herself inside and out. On the days Burton doesn't feel like herself, whether because of hormones or mental health, she emphasizes how important it is to actually communicate those feelings. "It has been vital for me to communicate, not just with my husband, but with my teenage son," she says. "I want him to grow up to be the kind of man that's supportive of the women in his workplace and the women in his life. You know, we all talk about how we need to educate our daughters, but we also need to educate our sons."

And looking back on her own teenage years, Burton reveals her experience with perimenopause has actually reinforced the values she identified during that period in her life. "I think being a teenager and seeing these people who were gods [in the industry], seeing how insecure and unhappy some of them were really tipped me off right away," she says. "Success is being okay in your little bubble, being okay in your bedroom at night when you're alone by yourself. And so my goals have always kind of centered on, 'Do I feel okay when I'm all by myself?' and menopause is one of those things that can rattle that safety for people."

"It's about knowing who you are so much that no one else can take it away from you," she continues. "And whether it's your work or a sh—ty boyfriend or whatever, you have to know yourself so well that no one can take it away, and menopause can mess with that sometimes. And I'm gonna fight like hell to keep who I am."

1. Color Can Work In Your Favor

The colors you wear and use in your home are energetically connected to you and your own personal qi, or what is defined as your lifeforce energy. Black, navy and charcoal with a mix of whites and grays were particularly good colors for my zodiac animal (the rat), which is funny because my home is predominantly those colors.

While every zodiac animal has favorable colors, Cho and Morris discovered a combo of two colors to be the best colors for everyone in the Year of the Snake. "We think a vermillion persimmon color, a really fiery color that's connected to the wood snake, will be the best color for everyone for the Year of the Snake," says Cho. I happen to love this Persimmon Birds wallpaper by Nathan Turner and both Cho and Morris encouraged me to bring in this complementary color to all my blues and neutrals.

Of course, this doesn't mean you have to paint your space an orange or fiery red or buy a pricey sofa in that color. Maybe you always use a pen or notebook in that color or wear something in the vermillion persimmon family and start to notice how it makes you feel this year.

2. Crystals Can Impact Your Goals

Apparently, I have a lot of water in my Chinese zodiac, which can mean I’m very creative and intuitive. The crystal that's connected to all that water is labradorite, which has a bluish, watery quality to it. It’s also said to be supportive of wisdom and intellect. "Water is considered an element with a lot of depth," says Cho. "When you think about the ocean, there's so much life happening underneath. Water is really a connector, a communicator, and with a lot of depth of wisdom." That's the kind of energy I'm cultivating? I'll take it!

3. Know Your Bagua

Bagua in feng shui is like a grid or a mandala that you can overlay on your home. It can reveal obstacles and patterns in your home that you might want to unlock or rearrange. You place this grid over your bed or starting at your entry and it shows things like Abundance, Wisdom, Growth, etc. Morris and Cho overlayed the bagua over my bed and shared where I can place the labradorite to activate my career, communication and connection this year.

Mindful Living offers five floor plans to teach you how to read your mandala's home layout.

4. Plants Can Enhance Your Qi

Plant choice and placement can impact your home's qi too. For example, jade succulents are best placed in your Wisdom bagua area while the snake plant, which cuts through negative energy and signifies strength, is best placed in your Alignment area.

5. Timing Is Everything

There are auspicious hours/days/months and more challenging hours/days/months in the lunar new year. My best months are January, April, and August, while my challenging months are June and July. My best hours are 7AM to 9:00 AM to 3PM to 5:00 PM and 1AM to 3:00 AM, as well as a slew of days where I can make sure to align with important meetings, or plan an event, or even talk to someone about a difficult topic. I can be strategic with this time.

"My most challenging months are always the months that I overwork and I'm totally burnt out," says Cho. "So I look ahead and I definitely say no to the things that aren't the most important in those months."

Turns out, January 8th is a really great day for zodiac rats, so I'll be putting my labradorite stone underneath my bed then with the intention that I'm bringing in more wisdom, more resources, more support for my career and for my communication and connecting to others.

This is where your zodiac animal plays a part too. “Snakes have this magnetism and this charm and there's an attractive quality about them, but they're also really wise and thoughtful and clever, and that's actually a good thing for the rat,” says Morris. Those born in the year of the Tiger and Pig may find the 2025 lunar year more challenging, but that doesn't mean it's going to be a terrible year. (My challenging year is coming up in 2026, the Year of the Horse).

"It's not the year to push yourself," adds Cho. "It's the year to take care of yourself. It's the year to say no when you're going to be stretched thin. And it also reminds us you can't have your left side of your body without your right side of your body. There's a natural shift to things, and it reminds us there's times to be quieter. There's times to be more internal, and there's times where we'll have more challenges, but with the greatest challenge also comes the greatest rewards."

Mindful Living: A Guide to the Everyday Magic of Feng Shui

Learn more about your monthly forecast for 2025 and mindful rituals to get you through the year in peace and harmony in Mindful Living: A Guide to the Everyday Magic of Feng Shui!