I plan to buy some makeup to contribute to the drive. However, about all I know about makeup for women is that Too Much Is Not Good. Any advice on purchases?
Matte finishes are definitely the best idea for eyeshadows/powders, and the best ones are all going to be ones that are natural colors. I'd say a rosy pink blush would work on most people, and eyeshadows that are in the brown, taupe, and pink range are generally pretty flexible for different eye colors. I agree about staying away from black mascara, though soft black might be okay, the best one is probably going to be black/brown or dark brown. Lipstick is like blush, in that a rosy pink that is very close to natural will probably be the best bet, and one that is merely a cream, with no glitter or other "shine" elements in it is the best type.
Also, this is very sweet of you.
Fred is me. As it's my sister's birthday on Friday, I went to the city centre today to buy her present. I thought I was being very clever, as I actually remembered that a few weeks ago she'd mentioned that she desperately needed new makeup brushes. Ordinarily I just panic the on the day and buy her a cd, but today I put some thought into it. However, as I've never worn makeup myself, I was unaware of exactly how complex the world of application brushes was. All I wanted was to get a nice, thoughtful gift for my sister, instead I got a lecture on the differences between blending brushes and angled application brushes and straight-edged brow brushes and why in the hell do all these things cost about thirty euro each?! Why?!
Hahahaha. I'm sorry. The proper application brush can make a world of difference, but really, unless you're doing something really complicated, you don't really need them. But they're super fun. And only the really nice ones are crazy expensive. Cheap ones are available, but they're not as effective. (ETA: But you can get some very very decent ones for much less than 30 Euro.)