Erin Dugan Jurchak has two distinct, light diagonal lines across her chest. They extend from the sides of her neck down and are highlighted by a golden glow.
But the blond beauty influencer didn’t get her sun-kissed look by spending hours catching rays in a halter top bikini.
She faked her tan lines with makeup.
Armed with two strips of Washi crafting tape from Michael’s ($12), Anastasia Beverly Hills’ matte powder bronzer ($28) and Tarte’s Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Longwear Powder Blush in rosy red ($30) — products she already had in her vast makeup arsenal — it took her just ten minutes to create the illusion of marks from bikini straps on her coppery chest.
“Tan lines are feminine and sexy,” said Jurchak, who scored a staggering 6.1 million views on a makeup tan tutorial she posted to TikTok, where the hashtag #FakeTan is more than 2.3 billion strong.
“Giving myself fake tan lines reminds me of my youth, growing up in the 2000s, [when tan lines were more fashionable],” she said, pointing to a time when stars such as Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz and Jessica Biel shamelessly strutted red carpets with their telltale beach marks visible.
Tan lines are the latest Y2K style trend to make a resurgence, but now many are faking the look for both convenience and health reasons.
Brazilian model Gih Coelho, 21, from São Paulo, ignited the fake tan lines trend in January with a TikTok clip that earned her 4.6 million views.
In the caption of the post, the brunette joked about using tape and makeup to accomplish the look after she forgot to sunbathe, per a language translation provided by the app.
But online, cosmetics lovers like Jurchak are feigning a fresh-from-the-beach beauty with tape and powders.
Tan lines are hugely popular in Brazil, where there are salons dedicated to placing electric tape along women’s bust and bikini lines to create color-contrasting designs on their skin after they hit the beach.
Beauty content creator Ghazal Wahidy, 29, told The Post that she was excited to give herself makeup tan lines after seeing Coelho’s tutorial pop up on her timeline.
“It looks so sexy and attractive,” said Wahidy, from Alberta, Canada, adding that her boyfriend loves the falsified imprint on her body.
To achieve the look, she vertically cuts a long piece of scotch tape — dividing it into two thin strips that resemble the slim bands of a spaghetti strap bikini — and adheres each slice to her chest.
She then brushes over the tape with Benefit Cosmetics’ matte Hoola Bronzer ($35) and finished the design with a few dabs of a rosy Kylie Cosmetics powder blush ($20).
“When I was in high school, I tanned in the sun or in tanning beds a lot, and that’s not great for your skin,” Wahidy said. “This is a much safer alternative.”
Manhattan dermatologist Dr. Julie Russak agrees.
“[It’s] a strange trend, but it’s much better than overexposing the skin to the sun in order to get the tan lines,” Russak told The Post. “Too much sun exposure changes our DNA and can cause UV damage, which increases the risk of skin cancer.”
NYC esthetician Danuta Mieloch adds that makeup, rather than sun rays or a tanning booth, is also the best option for avoiding early signs of aging.
“Whenever your skin is changing color due to too much sun exposure,” said Mieloch, “you’re in danger of developing fine lines, wrinkles or hyperpigmentation.”
However you achieve them, tanlines are no longer sometime to hide.
In October, supermodel Heidi Klum, 50, shared a risqué mirror selfie on Instagram, showing off the sun-drawn etches she’d cultivated beneath a tiny black bikini.
A-listers such as Emily Ratajkowski, 31, actress Karrueche Tran, 35, and gymnast Olivia Dunne, 20, have also recently flaunted their summer stripes.
“This [makeup trend] isn’t about demonizing the sun,” said Jurchak. “It’s just a cute and safe way to get a fun summertime look.”
