Systems, devices, media, and methods are presented for displaying a virtual object on the display of a portable eyewear device using motion data gathered by a face-tracking application on a mobile device. A controller engine leverages the processing power of a mobile device to locate the face supporting the eyewear, locate the hand holding the mobile device, acquire the motion data, and calculate an apparent path of the virtual object. The virtual object is displayed in a series of locations along the apparent path, based on both the course traveled by the mobile device (in the hand) and the track traveled by the eyewear device (on the face), so that the virtual object is persistently viewable to the user.