On the Fragrance Publicity Beat with . . . The Wall Street Journal?

Rupert Murdoch’s transformation of The Wall Street Journal continues apace. More pictures, more lifestyle stories, more . . . fluff.

From yesterday’s online edition: “The Scent of Angels.”

To celebrate the launch of Thierry Mugler’s Angel Eau de Toilette and the fragrance’s newest spokeswoman, Eva Mendes, the company flew in dozens of guests for a cocktail party Thursday at the IAC building and served truffle pasta and short rib plates. The notoriously reclusive Mr. Mugler made a rare cameo.

The report drops 4 celebrity names in 163 words, for a tabloid respectable CPW rate of 40.7. Extra points for “truffle pasta” and “notoriously reclusive.” Points off for the repetitive redundancy “rare cameo,” and for failing to mention the Eva Mendes nipple slip.

So who does Rupert have churning out this fragrance-fluff? Priya Rao? Marshall Heyman?

No—there’s a new hack in the Journal’s stable. Meet Valentine Uhovski. He’s the young “social scribe” who, along with his creepily ever-present step-sister Olga Rei, founded a short-lived website that provided weekly rankings of New York socialites. Then he wrote for Harvey Weinstein’s online magazine ASmallWorld, a feature of the “private online community” aimed at the world’s rich and fabulous. Recently, he’s been writing for W magazine.

Given his limp on-camera persona, he should probably stick with print.