"I look forward to more surprises in my life," says author Daisy Fuentes.

As we try to keep wrinkles at bay with the latest night creams, we can relate to Daisy Fuentes’ sentiment that “aging sucks” when it comes to holding onto our girlish looks. But we also agree with her when she says the valuable life lessons learned in her 43 years more than make up for it.

“Your appearance changes and you have to deal with that and that’s tough,” says the model-turned-TV host. “But it gets easier once you get your head around the fact that you can’t hang onto that youthfulness. Women who try to do that come off silly, not sexy. Once you identify with who you are, life gets easier.”

Fuentes learned that and more while writing her new book Unforgettable You: Master the Elements of Style, Spirituality, and True Beauty (Atria, 2010), designed to help women “become a more improved version of ourselves. It allowed me to take a good, hard look at how I came to this point. And I learned about the things that have always fascinated me,” she says.

Those topics include image, sexuality, dating and spirituality, which Fuentes says has taught her to be “patient, calm, understanding, not to judge. It reminds me not to be jealous and envious and have compassion for others.”

The book includes a section entitled “A Letter to My 20-Year-Old Self,” in which Fuentes admits she thought she knew it all back then. “The truth is, I’ll never know it all. I will always be on a journey of rediscovery. I’ve spent the last 20 years of my life learning about myself, mostly the hard way, and I still have the nerve to continue to evolve and change. When I was younger I never stopped to find out who I was or who I really wanted to be. I didn’t really figure it out until I was in my 30s, and I wish I started earlier,” she confides.

Fuentes does have a few pet peeves related to getting older, however. “It bothers me when people say, ‘She looks great for her age.’ When I was in my 20s and had an article written about me they never mentioned my age, but when I turned 40 it was part of the title, like they expected me to die at 39,” she says. “It also really bothers me when women lie about their age. You should have a big party and celebrate it. That’s how you age gracefully, by accepting who you are and continuing to enjoy life without being jaded and by taking care of yourself — eating well, working out, being active.”

What’s your secret to being unforgettable?

Photo credit: Gerri Miller

Tags: author, Daisy Fuentes, Fuentes, Gerri Miller, Human Interest, model-turned-TV host, Old Self