OK guys. I keep going back and forth on buttercream recipes. I love the taste and creamy texture of all butter, but it doesn't seem to hold up well for me when it gets warm. I usually use a 50/50 blend of shortening and butter so I can use the paper towel method to smooth out my cakes. It also seems to hold up well. I really love the taste of swiss meringue but it doesn't seem to hold up well being an all butter base as well. I'm just frustrated because I want my cakes to look good and taste great too. Any suggestions.

Have you tried IMBC (italian meringue buttercream)? It holds up the best in heat of the all butter varieties although you can use 50/50 shortening and butter if you want. I live in South Florida and IMBC is my go to buttercream.

warm weather, google Edna De La Cruz buttercream

I make cooked flour frosting/icing. In hot weather I add 50/50 shortening and butter to the usually all butter recipe. Holds up really well, tastes great and easy to make.

I use a variation of Indydebi's buttercream... always make a triple batch with a 3:1 ratio of shortening to butter.  Stay away from Keller's brand butter, as I have found that it melts and causes puddling at the bottom.   In addition, I use heavy cream in lieu of the milk.  It crusts beautifully and withstands the heat and humidity well.

Well, there's warm weather, and hot weather and high humidity.  Each brings it's own troubles for a cake decorator.  Then there's the huge differences between tastes.  Personally I do not like all butter b'creams.  One might as well eat a stick of butter - yuck.  Give me one that is 1/2 and 1/2 (or close to it).  Where I Iive our summer temps can often reach over 110 but it's usually dry heat.  I have found the "2 of everything icing" to be great.  Using that recipe I have never had it melt even on our hottest days.  

I've also used UNflavored (plain) yogurt to replace any liquid called for in most recipes.  It helps to cut the sweetness some people complain about.

Oh BTW, just re-reading your post I must poiint out that the 50/50 mix has nothing to do with a b'cream recipe crusting or not.  It's the ratio of fat and sugar that causes crusting.  So the more fat (be it butter, margarine or shortening) to the amount of sugar used is what causes icings to crust.  The LESS fat (therefore more sugar) the better the chance it will crust.