A perfume with ‘wood’ in the name gets looked at carefully by me, because today that often means an overdose of oud or agarwood. Although these scent notes are currently much in favour with a lot of perfume lovers, I am not one of them.
“White Wood” by Balma Venitia is different. It opens with a wonderful accord of pear and fig which for me could last the whole time. Instead, the perfume changes to more dry and woody notes, but stays fresh and clean and subtle. Dryness and freshness might sound like a contradiction, but the smell is that of small but strong plants in an overall dry and woody environment, illuminated by the shining sun. There are spices between the wood; cardamom and coriander can be distinguished clearly. “White Wood” keeps its lightness and elegance till the end.
According to the parfumo platform apricot, fig leaf, green notes, pear, fig tree, patchouli, sandalwood, white musk, amber, dry woods, and tonka bean are scent notes in the fragrance. The FRAGRANTICA platform is very close to those notes as well.
The website of Balma Venitia seems not to be working all right (as of 20th September 2026, when I accessed it), but what is shown there does go along with the above-mentioned notes. The apricot I do not smell, neither the tonka bean. The other ingredients make sense in the combination.
The colour of the perfume is a light shade of violet. The durability is fine, the sillage not too overpowering. The scent was created in 2023.
The overall impression of the fragrance is that it captures the elegance of a special part of Southern France very well. There is a slight distance in the scent that often differentiates French niche perfumes from Italian ones. It is my personal opinion that often, but not always, Italian niche perfumes are a bit more embracing, whilst the French ones are more elegant.
France and Italy have different styles. That can be clearly seen in the neighbouring provinces in the South: Cote d’Azur and Costa Azzurra. “White Wood” captures the spirit of the French side well, not of the coast, but the area where the vineyards merge into the mountains in Provence. The fragrance represents the landscapes further inland.
There is a feeling of early summer in the perfume, maybe also of the golden days of October. The perfume mirrors the time of a changing sun, with some chilliness in the air, but clearly illuminated.
Thierry Lemahieu, the founder of Balma Venitia comes from the Southern French region Beaumes-de-Venise and he and his family own property there. His fist career is as a designer, but with Balma Venitia he started in 2023 a very interesting niche fragrance brand. One of his most famous sculptures resides in the perfume museum in Grasse. It is meant to show the closeness of memory and scents.
According to my internet recherche Balma Venitia seems to be (have been) in financial troubles and Thierry Lemahieu stepped down as its president at the end of 2025. I do not know if the company has been sold and if that information is correct. On the positive side I can report that the 4 perfumes of the brand can easily be purchased as of now through various online stores. The status of the brand might be the reason for the state of the website as well.
“White Wood” has been created, like the other scents of Balma Venitia, by ‘nose’ Marie Duchene. She is in the business for a long time and next to working for famous perfume brand Givaudan, she also founded her own company MD Fragrances.
“White Wood” by Balma Venitia is the kind of perfume a gourmand addict can respect and like when the time calls for more elegance and more distance than the normal sweet comfy zone can give. “White Wood” promises light, fresh fruits, and dry wood, a perfect combination of the Southern region in France.
The subtle elegance of fruits and wood combined in a very complex way makes you want to test more perfumes of the brand. Time will show if Thierry Lemahieu continues with Balma Venitia and creates, maybe together with Marie Duchene, more unique scents.
Not many brands transport elegance and beauty in such an understated way as Balma Venitia did with “White Wood”. It would be nice to see more over time; it would be a pity if the brand disappears. In general, such regional niche brands as Balma Venitia are always worth trying, because they are to far away from the mainstream. This, of course, makes life difficult for them, as everybody can understand who keeps a sound distance to the mainstream.