Maybe I just mis-understanding your question, but all I see is her eye's, I don't see anything distracting in her eyes. I think her eyes should be brightened somewhat, as they seem to dark to me.
This was a WEAK attempt but was this the idea of what u were looking for, in which case it would be easier to edit prior to turning black and white. I had nothing to go by in the sense of distigusing the diff between the iris/pupil so she looks a little awkward.
kinda scary huh... it needs to be edited prior to the change to b&w since its easiest to change hsl rather than adjust contrast and make it look natural... but the funny thing is I live in Iowa between the corn fields so maybe im tapping into that... lol
Then I turned it to B&W but it tone is all personal choice, when the face is darker so is the backround and I thought it was to much I choose a lighter face to a darker backtound... Personal choice though.