Of all of Shu’s foundations, I think the Nobara stick gets the most attention. Nobara was formerly a cream foundation, discontinued, then the stick was introduced as a replacement.
Stick foundations are generally versatile: foundation and concealer in one. Nobara offers medium to full coverage with a good amount of “slip” (stick foundations can be dry), and seems to be the darling of many a makeup artist. Nobara is $42.
Shu foundations are numbered. The first digit tells you how pink or yellow the foundation is: 1 is the most pink; 9 is the most yellow; 5 is neutral. The second digit goes from black to white. A second digit of 0 has the most black/is the darkest; a second digit of 9 is the lightest. The third digit tells you chroma — whether the undertone of the foundation is blue or violet (all Nobara shades end in 4, so the point is moot).
I’m missing a few shades (784, 934, 504); those testers were already gone by the time I got to swatching.
Click here to see swatches of Shu’s Face Architect Smoothing Fluid Foundation or Face Architect Cream Foundation.

Thanks for the colour bar chart Karla.
I always wanted to work out what shade I was and understand the numbering system. Now I know thanks to you
Thank you so much for swatching this!!
Thank you- this is so helpful.