I like that one too. Definitely more life yeah. It shows the cute side better too.
However I am not sure that the pose - meaning here, the shoulders pose - is the best one. That shoulder pose is plain weird I think.
NB : what ? Gwen haz piercings !
I like the pose because it looks pretty rigid and uncomfortable, which sort of suits the character, but I'll admit it's not ideal. The problem is, it's the only one that doesn't a) Make it look like she's relaxing or standing assertively, which would be very out of place, or b) Make her long hair stick out in some bizzare angle like the old portrait in a manner that just looks silly. So I'm a bit stumped.
Also, the piercing has always been there! There's a backstory reason for it existing, even.