MCoBeauty No.4 Vanilla & Macadamia is a 90ml fragrance mist from an Australian brand that has built its business on making affordable versions of expensive products, and it is currently being sued over exactly that. It is also, on its own terms, a perfectly decent warm vanilla.
Both things are true and this review covers both. I own the bottle, I have worn it, and I have photographed the back panel, which turns out to say something the front does not.
If you came here to work out whether it replaces a Sol de Janeiro, I have a separate side-by-side on that: MCoBeauty vs Sol de Janeiro.
1. First Impressions: Vanilla That Behaves
The opening is sweet and immediately recognisable. Vanilla and macadamia, which in practice means a warm, buttery, slightly nutty accord rather than two distinct notes you can pick apart.
Macadamia barely exists as a perfumery material in any literal sense, so what you are smelling is a creamy nut accord built from other things, most likely with a lot of help from the same family of materials that make almond notes work. It reads as buttery rather than marzipan-ish, which is the right call.
The vanilla is the sweet, rounded, slightly boozy kind rather than anything smoky or leathery. There is no attempt at complexity here. It smells like a nice thing and it smells like it immediately.
Maurice Roucel, one of the most decorated perfumers working, told us what he reaches for by preference:
“While I must work on the ideas of client briefs, which are quite specific, personally I do enjoy something with the structure of musk, vanille [vanilla], ambery, sweet but not too sweet, and comfortable.”
That is a fair description of what No.4 is aiming at. It gets about seventy percent of the way there, and the thirty percent it misses is mostly in the “not too sweet” clause.
2. What the Back Panel Actually Says
Here is the detail worth owning the bottle for.
The back panel reads: “Dist. by MCoBeauty Pty Limited, Level 9, 10 Bridge St, Sydney NSW 2000. Proudly Australian Owned. Designed in Australia, Made in PR China.”
Now compare it with the back of MCoBeauty No.6 Coconut Cream, which I also own. That one reads: “Manufactured for MCoBeauty Pty Limited, Level 9, 10 Bridge St, Sydney NSW 2000 Australia. Made in China.”
Same brand, same Sydney address, same 90ml bottle, same product line. One says distributed by, designed in Australia, made in PR China. The other says manufactured for, made in China. No “Proudly Australian Owned” line at all on the second.
Neither statement is false and neither is unusual. Plenty of brands manufacture in China and there is nothing wrong with that. But two bottles from one line describing their own origin in two different registers, with the more flattering framing on one of them, is the sort of inconsistency you only find by owning both and turning them over.
3. How It Wears
Two to three hours on skin, longer on clothes. This is a fragrance mist and behaves like one.
Projection is strong for about twenty minutes and then drops off a cliff. That opening is loud enough that you should be careful in an office, and quiet enough an hour later that people will not know you are wearing anything.
The sprayer is adequate. It throws a wetter, coarser spray than the Sol de Janeiro atomiser and you will feel the droplets land, which matters more than it sounds when you are spraying near your hair.
There is not much of a drydown to speak of. It gets softer and slightly powdery and then it is gone.
4. The Bottle, and the Lawsuit in the Room
The bottle is a tall, slim, transparent cylinder with a bold colour-coded label, a number, and a scent name in a heavy sans serif.
In November 2024, Sol de Janeiro filed suit against MCoBeauty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleging that this trade dress copies its Cheirosa line, and adding false advertising claims in an amended complaint filed in November 2025. MCoBeauty has denied the allegations and argued that the features in question are functional and non-distinctive, and that third-party “smells exactly like” comparisons are not its responsibility. As of this review no court has ruled on the merits.
I am not in a position to judge that and I am not going to pretend otherwise. What I can tell you is what is in my hands: two tall transparent numbered bottles with bold colour-coded labels, from two different brands, and they look considerably more alike than either looks like anything else on my shelf.
Whether that is unlawful is a question for the Southern District of New York. Whether you find it uncomfortable is a question for you.
5. The Batch Code I Could Not Read
I could not get a batch code off this bottle. The base carries printing but the amber juice is too dark to backlight, and sun through the bottle dies completely instead of illuminating the base the way it does on the paler No.6.
For the record: 90 ml / 3.04 fl oz, 24 months after opening, vegan, animal test-free, hair and body.
If you want to try this yourself on a dark bottle, light it raking across the base from the side rather than shining through the liquid. I mention it because the usual advice, hold it up to the sun, is exactly what does not work here.
The Bottom Line
As a vanilla mist for the money, No.4 is fine. It smells good, it smells expensive for about twenty minutes, and it does the buttery-nutty thing competently.
It is also sweet enough to be one-note, it disappears in two to three hours, and the sprayer is the weakest part of the product. Nothing here is a bargain version of a luxury fragrance. It is a decent cheap fragrance, which is a different and more honest thing to be.
Buy it if you want a warm vanilla for very little money and you will actually reapply it. If you are buying it specifically to avoid buying a Sol de Janeiro, read the side-by-side first, because they do not smell as similar as the bottles suggest.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does MCoBeauty No.4 Vanilla & Macadamia smell like?
A warm, sweet, buttery vanilla with a creamy nut accord. It is simple and immediately readable rather than layered, with no significant development after the first twenty minutes.
How long does MCoBeauty No.4 last?
Two to three hours on skin and longer on clothing. It is a fragrance mist, so the concentration is low and reapplication is expected.
Where is MCoBeauty No.4 made?
The back panel reads “Designed in Australia, Made in PR China” and names MCoBeauty Pty Limited of Sydney as distributor. Notably, MCoBeauty No.6 words its own origin differently, saying “Manufactured for” and “Made in China”.
Is MCoBeauty a dupe brand?
MCoBeauty markets affordable alternatives to prestige beauty products. Sol de Janeiro has sued the company in New York over the trade dress of its fragrance mists and over advertising claims. MCoBeauty denies the allegations and no court has ruled on the merits.
Is MCoBeauty No.4 vegan?
Yes. The back panel states vegan and animal test-free, with a 24-month period-after-opening symbol.
Related Reading on Everfumed
- MCoBeauty vs Sol de Janeiro: the side-by-side, with both bottles photographed together.
- MCoBeauty No.6 Coconut Cream Review: the other mist, and the other back panel.
- Sol de Janeiro Cheirosa 68 Review: the bottle it gets compared to.
- What Does Vanilla Smell Like?: the note doing all the work here.
- What Does Almond Smell Like?: the family the macadamia accord borrows from.
- Perfumer Maurice Roucel Interviewed: the interview quoted above.
- What Are Gourmand Scents?: the category this belongs to.
- How Long Does Perfume Last?: why a mist fades faster.
Selena Marc is a fragrance enthusiast, freelance writer, and dog mom living in Houston, Texas. When she's not writing about her favorite new perfumes, you can find her enjoying yoga or a morning hike.
