When it comes to beauty, there is a time to experiment and a time to play it safe; a time to follow the latest trend and a time to rebel; a time to dedicate hours to a look and a time to quickly get it done. Today let's take a break from our recent newfangled trials ( hair chalk anyone?) and focus on an elegant basic that will take you less time than picking out your outfit for the day ahead: the laid back pony tail.

We enlisted the help of Mara Roszak, Celebrity Hairstylist for L'Oréal Paris, to break it down for us and give us the steps to achieve this perfect simple, yet elegant ponytail in just 5 steps.

1. Start by applying a light weight serum to damp hair. Mara recommends L'Oréal Paris OleoTherapy Perfecting Oil Essence ($12.99). Apply a couple drops to palms of hands and apply to the ends of hair first, then work your way up, staying off the roots.
2. To give the hair a bit of volume and texture, use a lifting product like L'Oréal Paris Advanced Hairstyle Boost It High lift Creation Spray ($4.99) to roots all over head.
3. Next blow dry hair with a medium size round brush, blowing smooth while leaving a bit of movement. To add a bit of extra texture use a 1 ¼ inch barrel iron rotating the sections in different directions for a relaxed natural feel. Spray a generous coat of hairspray over your gorgeous locks.
4. Loosely pull hair into a pony tail at the nape of the neck and secure with an elastic, similar in color to the hair.
5. Once the hair is secured, slide down on the elastic band about a ½ inch to loosen the pony even more. Take a small piece of hair from underneath the pony tail, about ¼ inch in size, spray it with hairspray and wrap around the elastic band and secure the ends with bobby pins, or tuck the ends into the elastic and spray again with hairspray all over.

So whether it is for a day at the office, a second date or a weekend picnic, you've found the balance between elegant and simple.

Where do you wear a laid back pony tail? Sound off in the comments below!