I can't give you any brand names, but from experience I can say the low priced ones can be a get-what-you-pay-for situation. Low quality stuff can be completely useless so you're better off not wasting money on them to begin with. I think you're probably better off buying something small and higher quality that might be worth having. I think the best advice for a beginner in makeup is not to buy the whole thing and try to to do it all at once. Instead, pick up one at a time and learn to use it really well before gooping on something else.
As for brands and things, you can learn a huge amount about what's good or not in cosmetics from the fashion vloggers on YouTube. I regularly watch Leighannsays, Pixiwoo, Grav3yardgirl, laurenbeautyy, zoella280390, and Thecherrydollface. Watch a few of those lady's vids and you'll be up on everything that's good and not in cosmetics.