One issue might be the level of contrast between elements, and contrast between the colors in your palette. The brightness value of the colors in your palette are pretty similar, so things blur into each other even if they have different hue values. With a sprite that small, adding differently colored pixels against each other would result in unintentional dithering, so some of the detail gets lost. You just need to practice simplifying your character into its key features.
The teeny sprite also looks pretty masculine. I wouldn't have guessed that it was female until you posted the larger version. The upper part of the body is much larger than the legs, giving that inverted triangle silhouette that more males have. I know Samus from Metroid was shaped similarly, but it was done so you wouldn't expect a girl to be inside the suit until the big reveal at the end.
Here's an edit on your super-deformed sprites.
I've pumped up the palette contrast, removed two colors, removed some of the dithering, and added some definition by adding some black between the chest plate and the (character's) right shoulder armor.
I've added a more feminine version too. Reduced the shoulder armor's size, brought emphasis to the chest, slimmed down the torso, widened the hips, and thinned the legs and feet.
Your character has so much potential. Don't give up on it just yet.
