Savon de Marseille olive oil soap is another option worth considering. It is sold in large cubes, ranging from 300 grams to 1 kilogram. To make smaller bars out of a cube, just cut it to size with a kitchen knife or cleaver. Shoebox Shaveshop sells this soap, as does savondemarseille.com /renchsoaps.com, Compagnie de Provence and The French Soap Store. It won't dry your skin out or leave a film after you wash it off. Quite the contrary, it is fairly moisturizing. The ingredients are regulated according to article III of Edict of Colbert. This has been relaxed a bit so that oils other than olive oil can be used. The soaps containing these other oils are so labeled. Nothing artificial about the ingredients. BTW - I found the palm oil soap to be less moisturizing than the olive oil soap, but better than most anything else. The soap can be stored wherever it is not damp or humid. I store mine under the sink in the bathroom.
I use Pears, and it is readily available in UK supermarkets. some info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pears_soap http://www.pearsinternational.com/
