[Woodcarver] finishing question

[Candy Lytle]

I have carved a lady in the round (its my niece in her wedding dress).  It's time to paint and finish it.  

I want the face and arms natural wood. 
The dress will be white (of course)  I have some ribbon on it that I want to be opague pearl.

I was thinking I need to use acrylics because of the opague pearl.

Should I seal the whole piece first? What finish should I put on the face and arms?
Sure could use your help.  I am a fairly new carver and have had some nice pieces I screwed up with the finish.  I kept all of the finishes that were suggested by the group a couple of weeks ago but I thought I would try to get some feedback on this specific piece. Thanks in advance for your help.

Candy 
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