Since it invariably comes up, I just spent the last two days doing a comparison of Prisma Topaz and City Rhythm Miami in samples from each company. (This is being posted to each of their pages here.). They are obviously quite similar but they are certainly not the same. To begin: Topaz is more floral and lime-forward and almost comes across as slightly a soapy floral. Miami is slightly sweeter and more coconut-y. There is a spot of floral but it is much more diminished. And whereas Topaz is a more rounded and, objectively, is probably the better balanced scent, Miami is sharper, almost metallic/synthetic upon application. That may sound negative but it’s not at all: it gives Miami a life and zest. As they dry down, the fundamentally more floral nature of Topaz remains; it has far less coconut to it and keeps more of a lime/flower (camelia? gardenia?) presence. Miami, in dry-down, picks up a slight boozy rum quality over the coconut base, and although the tang diminishes it is still there. To sniff one against the other two or three hours after putting them on is to smell sibling scents – quite close, but, for me, Topaz remains flowery and Miami more resinous with rum and lingering coconut.
In terms of sillage and longevity, I found both to be about the same as to sillage. Topaz wins as to longevity. Miami is five or six hours in me. Topaz I could still smell 12 hours later - faintly but still there.
Bottom line: all in all, I like both but if pressed I’d have to say that I enjoyed Miami slightly more – it has a tang and bite at first, which continues as it gets more boozy in the drydown. That’s not to say that Topaz isn’t a great scent, because it is (actually, they both are); nor is it to say that the two scents are not highly similar, because they are. Which of the two anyone might prefer would depend on their views of flowery scents versus more boozy drydowns or whether the person likes lime and flowers or tangy coconut.
