Christie Brinkley Shares Her Beauty Secrets

— -- It's tough to believe it, but Christie Brinkley is 61.

She works hard to maintain her good looks, modeling her routine after that of the "original health nut," her mother.

"My mom was always my biggest teacher, my inspiration, my role model. My mom was just the most amazing person," Brinkley told Elle magazine. "She was like a bon vivant in that she just lived each day to the fullest."

The supermodel, who just developed her own skincare line, Christie Brinkley Authentic Skincare, shared a few of her tips to aging gracefully.

1. Never skip exfoliation: "In the beginning of my career I read an article about the reason that men always look five years younger than women is because they shave. It said that the daily exfoliation from shaving gives them that rapid cell turnover and keeps their skin glowing and looking so great," she said, adding that she ran out and bought an exfoliator. She has been a fan ever since.

2. Don't eat meat: Inspired by a graphic description of a Chicago slaughterhouse, Brinkley decided to become a vegetarian when she was 13. "I said, 'I love animals. I don't want to be part of that system,'" she explained. In 2011, after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, she adopted a vegan diet.

3. Splurge: Sometimes, she admitted, she'll break her vegan diet. "Life is too short to not have oysters and champagne," she said.

4. Focus on how you feel, not how you look: "When you feel great you emanate a certain energy that translates as beautiful," she said. "I don't care if you have the standard beauty or not, it's that X-factor that comes through, and the basis of that is good health."

5. Don't listen to your haters: "Adopting a really positive attitude can work wonders to adding years to your life, a spring to your step, a sparkle to your eye, and all of that," she said.