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by Samantha Critchell
The Associated Press

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NEW YORK - Usher tapped into the same emotions he uses to court women with his music in creating a perfume for the opposite sex.

“The power of attraction is where it all starts. It has to be inviting, something that’s lighter in the day and still make him come closer in the evening,” he says.

“It has to be delicious.”

Usher’s UR for Women joins a companion men’s fragrance that Usher describes as woody and creamy. He says he’s wearing it every day as sort of a one-man focus group. But he also carries a bottle of UR for Women in his pocket and will offer a sample to anyone who is close enough.

With a full year behind him in the fragrance business, Usher says he’s always scouting new scents, whether he’s travelling around the world or in his own backyard. Key notes in UR are jasmine, peach nectar — “That’s a tribute to my humble beginnings in Atlanta,” Usher says — as well as honeysuckle, which is another popular Southern smell.

Usher isn’t the only boldfaced name at the fragrance counter this season, although the pace of celebrity scents seems to be slowing. Instead, many new launches come from familiar fashion houses:

* Michael Kors Very Pretty.

A scent inspired by the “camera candy” of old-school, Hitchcock- era Hollywood starlets.

Citrus garden, white florals and sandalwood.

* Dolce & Gabbana L’eau the One. This is an eau de toilette — fruitier than the original warm oriental floral perfume. Bergamot, plum and moss.

* Secret Obsession by Calvin Klein. Like all Calvin Klein fragrances, the intention is to be sultry and provocative, but the company even uses the word “uncomfortable” in its description, saying it encourages “the mind to wanter to a forbidden place.”

Plum, Egyptian jasmine, burnt amber.

* Jeanne Lanvin. Designer Alber Elbaz pays tribute to the house’s late founder with joyful, fruity fragrance that strives for modern femininity.

Blackberry, raspberry and freesia.

* B de Boucheron. Borrowing from the world of fine jewels, the woody floral scent developed as an inverted pyramid with base notes first and top notes last. Pink and black pepper, osmanthus, sandalwood.

* Elle Yves Saint Laurent Intense.

A perfume to be worn on a night on the town, the bottle of Intense is fashioned after a tuxedo but with fuchsia-coloured glass. Raspberry, lichi, jasmine.

* Kapsule by Karl Lagerfeld.

Lagerfeld puts together a fragrance collection that he hopes will go anywhere like indispensable items of clothes — a jacket, jeans and a shirt. Light: bitter orange, jasmine and musk; Floriental:

ivy leaves, violet and black tea leaves; and Woody: cedar, moss, plum.

* Tuscan Soul by Salvatore Ferragamo.

Developed as a fragrance that captures the “enchantment and aristocratic sweetness” of Tuscany, women and men can wear this citrus, woody floral.

Bergamot, magnolia blossom, fig tree.

* Jill Sander Scent 79. A strong, rich fragrance based on the retro chypre combinations — a rich smell including amber and citrus and a mossy, woodsy base. Sander’s emphasizes floral and amber. Cranberry, iris, white leathers.

* Ralph Lauren Notorious. Lauren puts sparkling spicy Orientals into a retro film noir backdrop for the designer’s vision of glamour from Hollywood’s golden era. Black currant, chocolate cosmo flowers and patchouli musk.

* Armani Prive Oranger Alhambra is an homage to the beauty of nature in the Persian gardens in Andalusia, Spain. Citrus, rosemary and jasmine.

* Vera Wang Look. One of Wang’s fashion signatures is layering and she does that with seemingly disparate fragrance notes that come together as one. Mandarin, freesia, skin musk.

* Legacy by Coach. This scent uses a top of citrus notes to create an aura of youthfulness that’s not too young and sophistication that’s not too subtle. Mandarin zest, orange flower and honeysuckle.

* L’Eau d’Issey Kuramata. Issey Miyake puts his admiration of late architect Shiro Kuramata in a bottle that tries to appear invisible using an ultra-transparent glass. Lotus, lily and woods.

* Lalique Amethyst.

Flacons are key for Lalique, and the Amethyst bottle is wrapped in the motif of blackberry bramble. Blackberry, black currant and ylang-ylang.

* Estee Lauder Private Collection Amber Ylang Ylang. Aerin Lauder’s collection is inspired by her grandmother, Estee, and this particular fragrance is housed in a bottle that mimics a particular gold necklace that Aerin inherited.

Amber, ylang-ylang, sandalwood.

* Bond Girl 007. This scent by Avon envisions a Bond girl as a bombshell that exudes confidence and sex appeal. White peach, calypso orchid, cashmere wood.

* Andy Warhol Lexington Avenue by Bond No. 9. The third in a series of Warhol-inspired perfumes, Lexington Avenue puts his early, pre-Pop years in a bottle thanks to the chypre fragrance. Peony, fennel and creme brulee.

* Azzaro Couture. Designer Vanessa Seward reinvented the label’s very first fragrance. Mimosa, Italian Iris, Rose de Mai.