The stunning Shay Mitchell [1] is one of our primary sources of beauty inspiration — and her style completely blew us away on the Teen Choice Awards red carpet [2].

The Pretty Little Liars [3] star worked with makeup artist Patrick Ta and stylist Chris Appleton to create her smoldering look. Ta loaded on sparkling berry shadow and Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara [4] ($22) for a sultry gaze. However, all eyes were on Appleton's tricky topknot.

From the front, the ballerina bun appears fairly standard. It's voluminous and textured — almost verging on messy. But when Shay turned her head, we saw the showstopping part of the style: a pierced braid. "Love a little detail," Appleton declared on Instagram [5].

Shay isn't the first star to rock this punky-pretty coif (Christina Aguilera tested one [6] earlier this year) but the way she did it is exceptional. The pierced plait functioned as a secondary style to the sweet topknot, which prevented the overall 'do from feeling too aggressive. See more shots of her stunning look when you read on.