Hipdot Rio Palette Review

This is the second palette I’ve tried from Hipdot, the first being the Legendary Palette, which I reviewed here. What struck me about this right away, just like the Legendary palette, is that this is just such a stunning palette. I want to use it constantly because the packaging is so beautiful and the color story and layout is so inspiring. These are some of the brighter shadows in my collection, but there are still so many different looks I want to do with it.

This palette has 3 pressed glitter shades and the other 12 are all matte or a satin matte. The ‘satin’ shades like Capeta and Ipanema amongst others barely have a shimmer, they’re basically a matte but just a slight more luminous. It’s hard to explain, but they perform exactly like mattes. This palette also unfolds like the Legendary palette and has the ribbon built in so that you can stand it up and use the mirror.

I’ve tried HipDot’s pressed glitters before, but this is the first time I’ve tried their eyeshadows, and I must say, I’m very impressed. I find with bright neon shades like these, even the best ones can be a bit patchy or dusty. It’s just so hard to have a perfect formula with super bright pigments. These are pretty close to perfect. They’re ultra bright while still blending really easily. The colors blend together perfectly, too, not turning muddy and staying bright but still looking seamless. Here’s a look I did for Pansexual Pride – the colors are very different but still somehow blend together perfectly without mixing or muddying up.

When I first saw this palette, I wanted there to be shimmers included, but the more I used it, the more the all matte decision made sense to me. I feel like I would like or use this as much if there were shimmers. The all matte gives this more of an Avant Garde feeling to me, almost like a box of very bright paints. If there were shimmers, it would be more of a classic ‘instagrammy’ palette, and I probably wouldn’t reach for it as much. With the constraints of only having mattes, it somehow forces me to be more creative.

To be completely honest, I haven’t used the glitters much yet. I’ve been less inclined to use glitters lately for some reason, and really liked sticking with the brightly colorful mattes. I could live without the glitters in this palette, but I owe that more to my personal preference. I’m hoping to try this out more soon and do way more looks with it, because it gives me so many ideas of color combinations I would never think to do. Here are swatches of the palette:

Overall, I really love this palette and am totally impressed with the quality. It’s so fun using these because I almost feel like I’m airbrushing neon color, the formula is so smooth and blendable. I wish I could’ve done 1,000 more looks for this post, because I have so many more ideas, but alas, there are not enough hours in the day for all the makeup I want to do. I can’t wait to see what HipDot puts out next! They’re always pulling out all the stops and blowing me away. Their upcoming Spongebob Squarepants palette is the most viewed video we’ve posted on our instagram to date.

View this post on Instagram

?UPDATE? @hipdot . . Here’s the first full look at the inside of the new @hipdot Spongebob Palette! I love this so much! . . Video: @hipdot . . Follow us for news in indie makeup, polish, perfume, and more! @theindiemood . . #indiemood #indienews #newcolors #indiemade #makeupnews #newmakeup #indiecosmetics #indiemakeuplover #eyeshadowpalette #hipdot #indiesdoitbetter #supportsmallbusiness #indiemakeupandmore #spongebob #indiemakeupbrands #bikinibottom

A post shared by THE INDIE MOOD LLC (@theindiemood) on Jun 28, 2019 at 7:12pm PDT

*This palette was complimentary for review but that does not change our opinion at all.