Chocolate cake

I made a couple of 6 inch chocolate cakes last night as a thank you gift for some friends.

This was the prettier of the two. Even though this cake is smooth, it's quite messy. I think a mistake i made was that i used the gigantic tip for the border and I was running out of icing. in addition to that the buttercream was melting. I can't wait to try this again.

Thank you all for your recommendations on how to make a smooth cake. I think with just a bit more practice and using a lazy susan, my cakes will improve even more.