Anne, I've run across color html issues in the past. But I just noticed that the profiles use XHTML 1.0 transitional, so I tried this and it worked:
<p style="color: red">hello</p>
or
<div style="color: red; font-size: 3em">hello</div>
As for applying bulk updates... I'd be surprised if we had that ability but if a tech would like to give us a tip, please do:D