To me, the morning beauty routine has a groundhog-day feel to it. Been there, did that yesterday — why am I wasting time doing it again when I could still be under the duvet? To my mind, scientific research is wasted on anti-wrinkle creams, when more significant strides could be made with semi-permanent beauty products that eliminate the need for prolonged morning prep. Imagine putting on your make-up and not having to reapply it for three days. Or simply washing and brushing your teeth before heading out of the door.

Received wisdom has it that you should wash off your make-up at the end of the day. “You need to make sure your face is clean before you go to sleep,” says the facialist Vaishaly Patel. “If you leave make-up on overnight, it will seep through the skin and result in blocked pores and blackheads.” What’s critical about the new breed of semi-permanent cosmetics is that they are non-comedogenic, meaning they don’t clog pores or cause spots.

It is estimated that the average woman spends three hours a week styling her hair. One day, however, we may see a pill that straightens it, or a cream that instantly changes its colour, without the time-consuming need for chemicals or electrical equipment.

Having researched the biological reasons for hair colour, ageing and texture (for example, the cellular differences between straight and curly hair), L’Oréal’s Advanced Research Laboratories think they may have come up with an instant method for long-lasting hair styling (although an actual product could still be about 10 years away).

Achieving an even skin tone is another protracted beauty process that many of us could do without. Messy, smelly fake tans, foundations that disappear before lunchtime and skin whiteners could soon be a thing of the past. Pfizer and OSI Pharmaceuticals have been conducting research into skin pigmentation, looking particularly at the relationship between certain enzymes and the way the body manufactures melanin. As part of its dermatology research programme, Pfizer hopes one day to be able to produce a cream that will change your skin colour — and that doesn’t wash off.

Away from the laboratories, in the here and now, there is already a handful of products on the market that prolongs the life of your make-up. For eyelashes, the Jemma Kidd Make Up School Lasting Tint (£12; www.jemmakidd.com) is a semi-permanent, waterproof ink mascara that coats the lashes with colour that lasts for three days. 3-D Lash, meanwhile, is a service that adds individual lashes to the eyes, eliminating the need for mascara. One treatment (from £100; 01722 329829) lasts for two to three weeks, with each subsequent maintenance session costing from £40.

While L’Oréal and Max Factor battle it out in the quest for the longest-lasting lipstick, a few underground brands have beaten them to it with lip tints that last for up to five days. Beauty Bandits’ semi-permanent lip stain in Pink Injection and Toffee Tan (£20; www.beauty-bandits.com) contains a lip-plumper and dyes that last for three to five days. Lip-Ink International has new semi-permanent Lip Colours (about £26.50 for a sampler kit; www.lipink.com); and the make-up artist Debra Robson-Lawrence recently launched the Line and Seal Cosmetic Pencil (£15; www.permanent-makeup.com), a lip liner that stays put for 24 hours.

Manicures that chip the day you have them are infuriating, but the Custom Blend Manicure at Marian Newman Nails at Charles Worthington (full set £95, maintenance £50; 020 7631 1370) is a natural nail coating that lasts for three to four weeks without chipping, leaving more time for the things in life that really matter — like sleeping and eating.

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