Jane Larkworthy

Jane Hazen Larkworthy (November 27, 1962 – June 4, 2025) was an American beauty editor and journalist. She served as executive beauty director at W magazine and was a prominent voice in print beauty journalism during the 1990s and 2000s.

Early life and education Larkworthy was born in Oceanside, New York and raised in nearby Merrick, on Long Island. She was the youngest of three children of William Larkworthy, a hospital community relations director, and Marjean “Midge” (née McKay) Larkworthy, a homemaker, freelance writer, and designer. Her mother died of breast cancer on June 4, 1980, when Jane was 17. She earned a bachelor's degree from Ithaca College in 1984.

She contributed as beauty editor-at-large to The Cut and wrote for Air Mail. Her writing was celebrated for its skeptical yet affectionate tone—she described her approach as “weeding out the BS”—and she often paired product insight with dry humor. Memorable lines included: “No one wants to smell like lemon Pledge” and “I wake up with supple skin — and sometimes a craving for Fage.” In her later years, she consulted for beauty brands and became a licensed real estate agent after moving to western Massachusetts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Personal life and death Larkworthy married Bertrand Garbassi in 2006. Larkworthy died from breast cancer at her home in New Marlborough, Massachusetts on June 4, 2025, aged 62. She was survived by her husband, two stepchildren, two stepgrandchildren, and her siblings Kate and Peter.