Key Takeaways
- Alicia Silverstone appeared on Byrdie’s digital issue cover wearing an ice blue manicure reminiscent of a color she made famous in the ’90s.
- Her nail artist Emi Kudo used a custom mix of vegan polish to get the look.
We can credit Alicia Silverstone for a ton of our modern fashion and beauty choices. Thirty years ago, we had our first Clueless summer. Then we had our first Clueless fall (back-to-school season!), winter, and spring. They’ve been occurring ever since.
That same fateful year, Silverstone appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman to promote the movie. While chatting, the talk show host noticed her shimmery baby blue nail polish and asked about it. “Sky by Hard Candy,” she said, and the brand—which was a single pre-med student-run show at the time—became a household name.
While that exact polish no longer exists, its power lives on. The look is still shout-it-out-on-a-late-night-show brilliant. For Silverstone’s Byrdie Legends Issue cover shoot, nail artist Emi Kudo painted the 48-year-old’s nails with a similar icy blue polish that let us revisit those early days of trendsetting while making space for who the actress is today.
Jonny Marlow
The Inspiration
Kudo said her inspiration for the manicure came from “Alicia’s grounded presence.” Key words were “calm, conscious, and effortlessly modern.” Silverstone has been vegan since the late ’90s, so finding the perfect polish to echo her values was important. This time, that meant they’d need to mix it themselves.
“We went with an icy blue vegan polish that felt crisp, luminous, and seasonally fresh. I call the look ‘Scandi Summer’—a nod to clean Scandinavian minimalism mixed with that light, relaxed energy of summer,” she explained. “It’s cool-toned, modern, and quietly striking—just like Alicia herself.”
Jonny Marlow
The Process
To get the look, Kudo custom mixed a vegan, cruelty-free icy blue nail polish with a cool undertone and high-shine finish.
“It had that subtle frostiness that catches light beautifully, while staying aligned with Alicia’s values as a longtime animal cruelty free advocate,” she shared.
After prepping Silverstone’s nails with a plant-based base coat, she added the custom polish to achieve perfect opacity and finished things off with a 10-free high-gloss top coat “to elevate the finish without compromising on clean beauty standards.”
How to Get the Look
Even if you’re not looking to be a nail polish mixologist, this look is fairly easy to DIY. Kudo says to start by shaping and smoothing your nails. Then, clean the surface with alcohol-soaked wipes before going in with your color.
“Apply two thin coats of an icy or cool-toned blue polish—look for one that feels vibrant,” she says. You could try Ella + Mila’s My Rain Beau or Habit’s aptly named ’90s Baby.
Jonny Marlow
Let each layer dry fully before following up with a frosty nail polish to get that icy finish. Then, seal things in with a non-toxic, high-shine top coat a la Alicia.
“The final look should feel fresh, minimal, and confident,” Kudo adds. “Like a breath of chilled air on a summer afternoon.”
