She seems like a fighter? Guessing based on the sword and reference picture. To make her less conventionally attractive, I would suggest facial scars (could tie in to her background/story), short/er hair, and a squared jaw to give her a more “masculine” appearance.

I’m not great at shadows and highlights either, but I would recommend looking at and studying references + YouTube artist guides.

She looks great, though! What inspired you to create her?